


Some might call it fate

by Chessala



Series: Fateful encounters [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Birthday Party, Fluff, Forging Bonds, Lost Child, M/M, Pets, Playing House, Protective Viktor, baby skaters, cuteness, google translate russian, kid quarrels, napping together, papa-papa-child, russian christmas, sleepover, smol Viktor, smol Yuri, smol Yuuri, they are so small!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-09-18 19:03:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9398756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chessala/pseuds/Chessala
Summary: The Katsuki family moves to Russia after they had to close their Hot Springs temporarily. Little Yuuri (3) has to go to a new Kindergarten where he doesn't know anyone. He sees a picture of an ice skater on the wall of his new Kindergarten and is instantly fascinated. He loved ice skating so maybe he can be friends with the person that drew this picture. But how can he talk to them?





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> All Russian text is done with Google translate so I am sorry for mistakes. unfortunately I don't speak Russian :(
> 
> Note that Yuuri, Victor and Yuri are close in age here. Yuri is 2, Yuuri is 3 and Victor is 4.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Kindergarten fics - so here is my contribution to the fandom! I hope you like it, I haven't really written anything in about 10 years so it was hard to pick it up again!
> 
> I don't have a Beta-reader atm, I'm sorry for that!

Everything was so strange suddenly. He had been living in a nice japanese house with a hot spring only a few days ago and now he was in this cold place with people that he didn’t understand. His Mama and Papa had explained to him that they would have to move for now as the hot spring didn’t make enough money anymore and Papa had gotten a job offer from a large spa in Russia. Yuuri pulled his blanket over his head and curled up. It wasn’t fair! He wanted to go back to Hasetsu and be with Yuu-chan and Nishigori. When he was just about to doze off again, he heard his mother’s soft voice calling him.

“Yuu-chan! It’s time to get up, we want to have a look at your new Kindergarten!”

Yuuri flinched and tried to make himself as small as possible. No, no, no, he didn’t want to go to a new Kindergarten, which was probably full of kids that would bully him because he looked different and couldn’t speak their language. Big tears rolled down his cheeks and he desperately tried to keep the sobbing under control.

Yuuri didn’t know how much time had passed when the door to his room was suddenly opened and his blanket was pulled away before he could hold on to it. Yuuri looked up, seeing an annoyed Mari frown at him.

“Get up kiddo, Mama has called you almost 10 minutes ago.”

Yuuri bit his lip, feeling more tears pour from his eyes.

“Onee-chan….Yuuri wants to go home…..Yuuri misses Hasetsu…..”

His sister’s expression softened and she sat down on the bed next to him, ruffling his hair a little.

“I know, I miss it too. But for now this is our new home. I’m sure you will make new friends, squirt. Maybe you can find someone to do that skating thing you like so much with? I am sure lots of kids do that here.”

Yuuri’s sobs slowly got weaker and he looked at his sister, nodding while still biting his lips.

“Yuuri will try….”

He took a deep breath.

“…but if Yuuri can’t find friends…will Onee-chan play with Yuuri?”

His sister smiled and faked an annoyed sigh.

“Of course, haven’t I always?”

He beamed at her and hugged her tightly before getting up and taking off his Pajamas. After getting rid of his clothes, Yuuri grinned at his sister, completely naked, before rushing to one of the boxes to get underwear. He leaned over the rim and soon found himself hanging with his naked behind pointing at his sister. He wiggled a bit but only ended up slipping down further, unable to get out.

“Onee-chan, help meeeeeeeeeee!”

Mari sighed again and got up. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled Yuuri out with a trained movement that, letting him hang in the air for a moment before she put him down.

“You really should stop randomly undressing in front of people. You’re not a baby anymore and when you are older, you can’t just run around naked.”

He looked at her, tilting his head and blinking.

“But everyone always was naked in the hot spring … why is it wrong here?”

She helped him put on his underwear and his favorite pullover, the one in blue and yellow, sporting a big ‘Y’ on the front.

“It’s ok to be naked in a hot spring when there are lots of other boys. But you can’t just undress in front of a girl like your sister. Girls and boys are different.”

Yuuri jumped on the bed and started to put on his socks, still looking slightly confused.

“But Onee-chan isn’t that different from Yuuri! Yuuri saw it before, Onee-chan only doesn’t have a little weewee hanging like Yuuri does. But Mama is different, she has big pillows in the front too, why doesn’t Onee-chan have any?”

Mari blushed and gave Yuuri a gentle whack against the back of the head.

“I will get those when I am a bit older. But a boy like you shouldn’t go staring at girls, they don’t like it!”

Yuuri pulled a face and jumped off the bed again, finally fully dressed.

“Well, girls are stupid then, none of the boys minded! I like boys better than girls!”

Mari chuckled and ruffled Yuuri’s hair again.

“I’m sure you do now, but in 10 years or so, you might not anymore.”

“NEVER!”

He poked out his tongue and rushed out of the room, leaving his sister behind on the bed. She smiled and got up as well, stretching a little.

“Whoever you decide to like squirt, I’ll always be there for you.”

She followed him out of the room and sat down at the table where their mother had already prepared a typical Japanese breakfast for them. Yuuri already sat on the table, waving his legs happily at the smell.

“Mama said we don’t have to eat bread all the time, even though we are not in Japan anymore! She said she found a lot of places where she can buy miso and fish! And she said Yuuri can have katsudon tonight if Yuuri is a good boy at the Kindergarten. ”

Mari nodded and slowly started eating as well.

“Isn’t that good? Though I want to try some of the local food as well.”

Yuuri pulled a face and shook his head.

“Nooooo, Yuuri wants katsudon every day!”

Mari sighed and drank some of her miso.

“If you do that, you’ll be called a pig or a fatty again and you can roll to your Kindergarten.”

Yuuri suddenly looked crestfallen and pushed the food away from him, looking at the floor. When he spoke, he clearly tried to keep his voice under control.

“Yuuri doesn’t want to be called a pig or a fatty….”

His mother sat down next to him and pushed his food a bit closer.

“It’s not good to eat too much but it’s also not good to not eat at all, Yuu-chan. You still have to grow so it’s ok to not worry too much about your weight. Mama, Papa and Mari love you, that’s what’s important. Don’t let others tell you otherwise.”

Yuuri looked from his mother to the food and back to his mother, nodding softly.

“Ok…..”

His mother placed a gentle kiss on his head and put a lunch box next to him.

“I made you some nice lunch for today and it’s enough so you can share with your new friends at the Kindergarten. Don’t be afraid that they are different, they are kids just like you and Mari and they just want to be friends and play with you.”

Yuuri nodded again and they finished their breakfast in silence before packing Mari’s books and lunch for school and Yuuri’s things for the Kindergarten. After dropping Mari off at her new elementary school, Yuuri starts fidgeting in his seat.

“Mama … Yuuri doesn’t want to go after all….please…..”

His mother sighed a little but her voice is soft when she started talking.

“Yuu-chan, we have spoken about this before. I know it’s hard for you but your Papa had to take the job here and Mama needs to find work too so we can go back to Hasetsu one day.”

Yuuri looked down and clenched his small fists. He was really afraid. He wouldn’t be able to talk with anyone, how was he supposed to make new friends like this? Even in Hasetsu he had only been able to find friends due to ice skating, which he was pretty good at for his age. They stopped their car in front of a medium sized building with a large playground in the front. Even before his mother opened the car door, Yuuri could hear the other children laughing and playing.

“Поймай меня, поймай меня!“ 

“Нет, это моё! Отдай!“

Yuuri’s mother lifted him out of the car and took his hand, entering the playground together. Almost immediately, Yuuri could feel the attention focusing on him.

“Кто это? Он совсем малыш!

“У него странные волосы и цвет кожи!“ 

Yuuri held on tightly to his mother’s hand and tried his best to not show how scared he was while entering the Kindergarten’s main building. Inside, colorful drawing were all-over the wall. While his mother went into the office to finish all the formalities, Yuuri stayed in the hallway, looking at one specific picture that made his eyes light up. The picture had a person ice skating on it and was signed with a name that Yuuri couldn’t read. He stepped closer to the wall and touched the painting, afraid it would disappear. He wondered who drew it and if he would be able to meet that person, maybe he could even be friends with them and ice skate together! He looked around, hoping against hope that the child that had drawn the picture would suddenly appear next to him. He was still terrified to meet the others but he could also feel curiosity now. He kept staring at the picture, hardly noticing the time go by until his mother came out of the office.

“Mama, Mama …. Yuuri found an ice skating picture! Yuuri wants to find who made it!” 

His mother smiled and leaned down to hug him.

“That’s wonderful, I am sure you two will be great friends soon."

Yuuri nodded and hugged her back, his eyes wandering back to the picture. One of the Kindergarten teachers kneeled down and smiled, speaking in accent heavy Japanese with him. 

“You are in the same group as the boy who drew this picture, his name is Viktor and he likes ice skating a lot too.” 

“Vik…tor…..” 

It felt strange to pronounce the unusually rough-sounding name but saying it made Yuuri feel all warm inside. And he would be in the same group with this Viktor every day and they could go ice skate together. 

“Viktor….” 

Yuuri whispered the name again like a mantra as he left the building together with the teacher. His searched every inch of the playground, wondering which of the children was Viktor. A bright flash caught his eyes and when he blinked, he saw a beautiful silver-haired boy next to an equally beautiful blond-haired boy in the sandbox. The blond boy seemed to be arguing about something and the silver-haired boy, seemingly a little older, was laughing, causing the other boy to get even more frustrated. Yuuri didn’t know why but somehow looking at the silver-haired boy made him want to meet him. Yuuri pulled on the teachers hand and pointed to the two boys. 

“Viktor?” 

The teacher looked surprised when she noticed who Yuuri was pointing at. 

“Oh, how did you know this is Viktor? He is the one with the silver hair. The boy next to him is called Yuri too but you pronounce it a bit differently.” 

Yuuri’s eyes lit up and he let go of the teacher’s hand, running to Victor and Yuri.  

“Перестань смеяться надо мной, дурак!“ 

“Но Юрий так похож на котика, это мило!” 

“И что? Котики классные, особенно тигры!”

Yuuri stopped in front of the two boys unsure what to do or say as they wouldn’t understand Japanese. He decided to say the only word he knew in another language than Japanese.

“Hello!”

The two boys looked up at him, not sure who it was that was suddenly talking to them in a different language. The boy named Viktor smiled at Yuuri and got up, cleaning his hands on his pants. The other boy, Yuri, stayed in the sand and hissed at the new boy. Yuuri wasn’t sure what to make out of the sound, he was sure it was supposed to scare him away but it had a very gentle sound to it, like a kitten that was pretending to be angry at someone.

After getting up, Viktor got closer to Yuuri and said some words that Yuuri couldn’t understand. Viktor looked at him in confusion when he doesn’t get a reply, which reminded Yuuri that he had no idea how he was supposed to talk to this boy that he had decided was the only person who could be his friend in this weird country. He takes a deep breath and points to himself.

“Yuuri! Yuuri!”

“Yuuri?”

Viktor repeated the name, throwing a glance at the blond Yuri and then shook his head.

“Yuuri. Yuuri!”

Yuuri nodded and pointed to Viktor, speaking in an excited voice.

“Viktor!”

The other boy nodded and pointed first to Yuuri, then himself and lastly to Yuri.

“Yuuri. Viktor, Yuri!”

Viktor looked at the boy in the sandbox again, frowning, obviously not happy about something. Suddenly he grinned and pointed first at Yuuri and then at Yuri.

“Yuuri! YURIO!”

“HUUUUUUUUUUH?”

The other boy got up and started arguing with Viktor, obviously unhappy about the new nickname he had just received from the other boy. A few minutes passed like that and the blond boy, now nicknamed Yurio, seemed to give up as he couldn’t manage to change Viktor’s decision. He threw an angry look at Yuuri and walked away, stomping his feet in the process. Viktor turned to Yuuri again and grinned happily, suddenly hugging Yuuri tightly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear your opinion in the comments! \o/
> 
> “Поймай меня, поймай меня!“ - Catch me, catch me!  
> “Нет, это моё! Отдай!“ - No, it's mine! Give it back!
> 
> “Кто это? Он совсем малыш!" - Who is it? He is so small!  
> “У него странные волосы и цвет кожи!“ - His hair looks weird and what a strange skin color!
> 
> “Перестань смеяться надо мной, дурак!“ - Stop laughing at me, you're so stupid!  
> “Но Юрий так похож на котика, это мило!” - But Yuri is so much like a cat, it's cute!  
> “И что? Котики классные, особенно тигры!” - So what? Cats are amazing, especially the tigers!


	2. Naptime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A first friend has been found! But why does Viktor suddenly look so upset when Yuuri tells him he doesn't want to nap with him in the same bed?

Yuuri pulled a face, trying to pronounce the strange sounding word that Viktor had been trying to teach him for the past 20 minutes.

“Vuukusna?”

Viktor shook his head and pronounced the word for Yuuri again, who in turn tried his best to repeat it. While Yuuri had been struggling to repeat Viktor’s words properly, Viktor did not seem to have many issues to repeat after his younger friend. In Yuuri’s opinion, that wasn’t fair at all. Looking down, Yuuri tried his best to not show how frustrated he was, holding back tears of anger. Viktor looked at him with a soft smile and started to gently pat his head.

“Yuuri, ganba…..”

Yuuri sniffed when he heard Viktor use the word he had only just taught him a little earlier that day. Why couldn’t he do it properly? Sure enough Viktor seemed to know a bit of Japanese already but he still felt like he was being incredibly stupid. When they absolutely couldn’t understand each other, the teacher Yuuri had met in the morning would usually help them out by translating. But sometimes they couldn’t find her and for some reason, Viktor had taken a liking to hugging Yuuri in those moments. Taking a deep breath, Yuuri closed his eyes for a moment and listened to Viktor as he repeated the word once more.

“Vkusno.”

Yuuri beamed, happily answering the silver-haired boy was wrapping him in. It wasn’t exactly exactly clear if Yuuri or Viktor where more happy about Yuuri’s newly acquired vocabulary.

“Перестань играть с этим глупым поросёнком, Виктор! Юрий тоже хочет поиграть!“ 

Viktor let go of Yuuri and turned to the blond boy sitting a few meters away from them, glaring openly at the scene he had just witnessed. He grind and made an inviting gesture for Yuri to join them. 

“Юрио должен играть с Виктором и Юрием!” 

Yurio shook his head and looked even more upset than before, which made Viktor sigh and go over, taking his and pulling him over to where Yuuri and Viktor where sitting. Yuuri took a few steps back, hiding behind one of the chairs. He didn’t like to be glared at and Yurio definitely didn’t like him, which usually lead to being bullied. He had only been here for a few hours anyway but he was sure the younger boy didn’t like him because he thought Yuuri was trying to take Viktor away or so. Yuuri would probably feel the same way if he had been in Yurio’s place. If possible, he would like to get along with him too but Yurio didn’t seem too eager to bother, so what was he supposed to do? One of the kindergarten teachers suddenly clapped her hands and spoke in a loud voice. 

“Пора обедать, все за столы!” 

Yuuri heard the other kids cheering and go to the tables. He looked up at the clock, tilting his head. Both clock hands were pointing up so that meant it was lunch time, right? He got up and got his lunch box out of his bag, slowly making his way to the tables. The other children looked excited and were talking to each other. Where was he supposed to sit? He had lost sight of Viktor while getting his lunch box and he hadn’t really gotten in contact with any of the other childrenyet. Some of them had tried to talk to him but when he couldn’t answer, they just went away again, obviously not interested in the new arrival anymore. Yuuri sighed softly and was about to sit at an empty table when he heard a familiar voice calling his name. 

“Yuuri! Yuuriiiiiiiiiiii!”

He turned around and saw Viktor and Yurio sit at one of the tables towards the back of room, close to the wall. He jumped away from the chair he had been about to sit on and made his way to the table, doing his best to ignore Yurio’s glare. The teacher rang a small bell and the children started unpacking their lunches. When Yuuri finished opening his lunch box, his eyes opened wide and he couldn’t help grinning, happy to see a large portion of his favorite katsudon. He was about to start eating when he noticed Viktor and Yurio both staring at his lunch in awe. 

_“Yuuri? What?”_

Viktor asked while leaning over and smelling the food. Yuuri’s grin widened and he pushed the box a bit towards the other two boys. 

_“Katsudon! Vkusno!”_

_“Katsudon….”_

The two boys looked at each other and after a moment, Viktor was the first to put a piece of meat on his fork and eating it. Instantly his eyes lit up and he looked at Yuuri. 

_“Katsudon VKUSNO!”_

He called out loudly, taking another piece and holding it to Yurio. 

“Попробуй, это так вкусно!” 

Yurio pulled a face and opened his mouth to protest. Viktor, having waited for that moment, took his chance and put a  piece of meat into Yurio’s mouth, grinning mischievously. The younger boy blinks in confusion and started chewing so he wouldn’t swallow the food whole, his expression changing instantly. He looked at Viktor and then, reluctantly, at Yuuri, blushing a little and speaking in a low voice. 

_“V-Vkusno…”_

Yuuri smiled at them happily, glad that his new friend and Yurio both liked the food. He took a piece himself and hummed softly at the familiar taste in his mouth. When he looked up, Yurio had pushed his own food box towards him, which contained some kind of bread. Yuuri tilted his head and then looked at Yurio, who was still red in the face from embarrassment.

“Pirozhki.”

Yuuri looked at him for a moment longer before taking one of the buns and biting into it. Immediately a delicious mix of meat and cabbage filled Yuuri’s mouth. He opened his eyes wide while chewing, looking at Yurio.

_“So tasty! Vkusno!”_

Yurio blushed some more and nodded slightly, eating one of the pirozhki as well. Viktor watched all this with a satisfied expression, nodding at the flushed Yurio before sharing his own lunch with his friends. When all children had finished their lunches, the teachers prepared the sleeping room for the afternoon nap, assigning a bed to each of the children.

“Нет! Я хочу спать с Юрием!”

The teacher sighed and looked first at Viktor and then at Yuuri, who looked rather confused by the whole exchange. She leaned down and smiled at him, speaking with her usual accent.

“He says he wants to sleep in one bed with you, isn’t that strange?”

Yuuri looked at Viktor, who started pouting and crossing his arms as another teacher tried to shoo him to his assigned bed. The only person he had ever slept in the same bed with was his sister and his parents. But he had still been small then and especially his sister had tried to help him to not be so afraid of monsters anymore. He was already 3 now though so he wasn’t afraid of the monsters anymore. He was a big boy and was perfectly able to sleep on his own. Yuuri looked back at the teacher and shook his head.

“Yuuri is already 3, Yuuri can sleep on his own!”

The teacher smiled at him and translated what Yuuri had said to Viktor. The silver-haired boy looked at Yuuri with a sad expression and gave him another tight hug before strolling to his bed with hanging shoulders and a few tears in his eyes. Yuuri blinked, unsure why the older boy was so upset that they wouldn’t sleep in the same bed. He looked older than Yuuri after all so he couldn’t possibly be afraid, right? After a moment, Yuuri went to his own bed, which was right opposite Viktor’s, and lied down. He was glad he had a big boy bed at home, otherwise he would have missed his old kindergarten’s futon, which had always smelled so nicely. 

A few minutes later, the room had gone completely quiet with the only sound being the breathing of sleeping children and Yuuri’s quiet sobs. He still missed his old home after all. He was really happy that he had already found a new friend but he missed his old friends too. Everything smelled so different and not even the bed was giving the same warmth. It also seemed to always be cold outside, even though it was spring already. He missed the hot springs and cherry trees in front of his house. Suddenly he felt a small tug on his blanket and a few moments later, a warm body was pressed against him in the bed, holding him.

“Юрий, не плачь, Виктор здесь.”

Even though Yuuri couldn’t understand what Viktor was saying, he felt incredibly happy that the other boy had ignored what he said earlier and had come to be with him.

“Viktor….”

Yuuri turned around and looked at the other boy, who looked at him with worried eyes.

_“Yuuri not alone.”_

Yuuri nodded slowly and sniffled, pressing his face against Viktor’s small chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“Spasibo.”

Viktor nodded slightly and wrapped his arms around Yuuri again, making sure to hold him until the other boy had fallen asleep soundly. He looked at the black-haired boy now cuddled against him with a soft smile.

Even though Yuuri had tried to hide it earlier, Viktor had been sure that suddenly sleeping in a new bed while being all alone would be difficult for Yuuri. With his parents constantly travelling, he knew how hard it could be to suddenly be left with people he didn’t know. Somehow this strange new kid made Viktor want to protect him, just like he always wanted to cheer up Yurio. The feisty 2-years old had lost his mother a few weeks ago and only ever looked really happy when his grandfather picked him up in the evening. Viktor wasn’t sure why he hardly ever saw the younger boy’s father but he guessed that he was just as busy as Viktor’s own parents were.

The teacher had explained to him, that Yuuri had moved away from Japan, a country that was pretty far away, because of his parents finding a job here in Russia. He didn’t speak their language but he would have to live here now. It was hard to make him understand what was going on sometimes but that wasn’t his fault, right? Viktor didn’t know much about Japan but he was sure that he would feel the same if he had to suddenly move away and leave all his friends behind.

“Vik….tor…..”

The soft murmur almost made the silver-haired boy jump but he managed to hold back so Yuuri wouldn’t wake up. He could feel the other boy hold on to Viktor’s shirt with his small hands and smiled again. Yes, he would protect him and he was sure Yurio secretly wanted to be friends too, he was just too shy to admit it. With his thoughts on that topic, Viktor finally closed his eyes and fell asleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Перестань играть с этим глупым поросёнком, Виктор! Юрий тоже хочет поиграть! - Stop playing with the stupid pig, Viktor! Yuri wants to play too!
> 
> Юрио должен играть с Виктором и Юрием!- Yurio should play with Viktor and Yuuri!
> 
> Пора обедать, все за столы! - It's lunch time, gather at the tables, everyone!
> 
> Попробуй, это так вкусно! - You have to try, it's so tasty!
> 
> Нет! Я хочу спать с Юрием! - No! I want to sleep with Yuuri!
> 
> Юрий, не плачь, Виктор здесь. - Yuuri don't cry, Viktor is here.


	3. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the nap, Yuuri drags Victor to the hallway. But what is he trying to tell him?

Yurio slowly rubbed his eyes as the teacher woke him up from his nap. He always wanted to protest but found he was asleep before he got a chance to do so. The bad part wasn’t actually the sleeping but more the getting up again. He could swear that the teachers shortened the time a little bit every day but none of the other children agreed with him and Viktor had even laughed when he told him, calling him a sleepy cat.

Somehow everyone loved to compare him to cats, not that he minded. Yurio was sure that cats must be the most amazing animals ever. He had been begging his father and grandfather for a pet cat for a while now but kept being told that he would have to grow up some more first. The blond boy was sure he was old enough to play with a kitten but he didn’t really have a choice but to wait. He was sure that when the time for the pet came, he would get the most amazing one ever!

He slowly crawled off the bed, his feet hanging in the air for a moment as he tried to reach the ground. The other day he had managed to get up all on his own without falling down but today, it must have been because he is sleepy, he felt his feet give way again and he landed on the ground. It didn’t hurt a lot so he quickly got up and went to Viktor’s bed, intending to wake his friend up.

He grinned and pulled back the blanket quickly, calling the other boy’s name. When he got no reply, he jumped up, finding the bed empty. Yurio growled softly and looked around for the familiar silver mob of hair. As his eyes scanned the room, he noticed that the katsudon Yuuri was still in bed as the teachers hadn’t reached him to wake him up yet. Yurio grinned again and quickly went to the bed, repeating his favorite blanket-pulling trick. Katsudon Yuuri should feel honored that he had decided to wake him up. Of course it was only because of the food, it wasn’t as if he liked him or anything.

“Yurio?”

The blond boy blinked as he heard a familiar voice from katsudon Yuuri’s bed and quickly climbed up, pulling a face as he saw Viktor lying in it, hugging the other boy. What was he doing here? Hadn’t the teacher told him that they couldn’t sleep in the same bed? Not like Viktor ever really listened to the teachers though. After Yurio had lost his mother, he had insisted that he had to sit next to him every day until Yurio had fallen asleep. He liked that about his friend so why was he so upset that he was caring for the other boy? Would he abandon Yurio now? He looked at Viktor, suddenly feeling sad.

“Он тебе нравится больше, чем Юрий?”

Viktor looked at him with sleepy eyes and took a moment to process what Yurio had said. He slowly shook his head and reached over, ruffling Yurio’s hair while smiling.

“Вы мне оба нравитесь.”

While that wasn’t what Yurio had wanted to hear, he decided to accept the answer. While Viktor had never outright climbed into bed with him or anyone else before, Yurio knew that the older boy cared a lot for him and now also katsudon Yuuri. Yurio nodded slowly and made his way down the bed, hearing the new boy grumble softly as he woke up.

*******************

Yuuri looked around, not sure where he was at first until he noticed Viktor next to him. He remembered that his new friend had snuck into his bed and made sure that Yuuri had been able to sleep. He blushed a little and the thought of what had happened made him feel really warm inside. Yuuri had thought he would never find new friends so he was really happy that he had been able to connect with Viktor so fast.

Suddenly Yuuri looked up and blinked, realization hitting him. The picture, he had completely forgotten to let Viktor know that he also loved ice skating! Maybe they could go to a rink together on the weekend if their parents had time to take them? Yuuri jumped off the bed, pulling Viktor’s sleeve to signalize the other boy to follow him. Still-sleepy Viktor looked a bit confused but nodded. He jumped off the bed while yawning and let Yuuri drag him to the hallway. Maybe Yuuri didn’t know where the bathrooms are? Being the older one Viktor had to make sure he helped him with that. But instead of the bathroom, they stopped in front of a collection of pictures that Viktor and the other children had drawn a while ago. Viktor looked at the pictures and then at Yuuri, who was jumping next to him in excitement, repeating the same words over and over again.

“Yuuri likes ice skating! Yuuri wants to skate with Viktor!”

After a moment, Yuuri noticed that Viktor didn’t understand what he was trying to say. How could he make the other boy understand that they both shared the same interest? The picture was hanging too high for him to directly point to it. Yuuri looked around in the hallway and saw a piece of chalk lying on one of the tables next to a blackboard. He gently took Viktor’s hand and pulled him to the blackboard, starting to draw. He knew he wasn’t very good at it but he hoped Viktor would understand anyway. It took him a moment to draw the two ice skaters but he thought they had turned out quite good in the end. He looked at Viktor, his eyes sparkling as he pointed first to one figure and then the other, repeating their names.

“Yuuri! Viktor!”

Viktor looked first at Yuuri and then at the drawing, his eyes opening wide as he finally understood what Yuuri had been trying to tell him. Truth be told, none of the other children had really been interested in ice skating because they would fall all the time and hurt themselves. But Viktor knew that they would get better if they would try, which they didn’t. He had tried to get Yurio to find an interest in it but he was still a bit too small. He looked at the blackboard again to make sure he didn’t misunderstand. Yuuri liked ice skating too, could that really be true? He wasn’t much younger than Viktor and a bit older than Yurio so it could be, he was definitely old enough to have tried it. He mimicked Yuuri’s gestures, pointing to the figures, repeating their names.

“Viktor? Yuuri?”

The smaller boy nodded eagerly and tried to pretend they were on the ice while smiling happily, which caused Viktor to make a small leap. Yes, he had finally found someone he could go ice skating with! Maybe Yuuri’s parents could go with them on the weekend since Viktor’s parents were travelling again and he didn’t particularly like the new housekeeper that was taking care of everything at home. He looked at Yuuri again, a big grin on his face as he took the other boy’s hand and squeezes it gently. Viktor still couldn’t believe how lucky he was and it made him feel all warm and comfortable in his chest. Maybe that’s why he had felt so connected to Yuuri from the beginning? And he was sure that as soon as they could talk a bit more too, they would have even more fun together, how could they not?

Yuuri answered the other boy’s hand squeezing by holding on to his hand tightly. Maybe having moved here wasn’t so bad after all? Yes, he still missed his old friends but he couldn’t be sad forever now, could he? Being with Viktor and Yurio made him feel happy and that#s what he decided was what was important. While he knew Nishigori had only teased Yuuri because he liked Yuu-chan and was afraid she would like Yuuri more, he didn’t really like being teased by him all the time. But Viktor didn’t tease him or called him fatty or pig, though he wasn’t sure what Yurio was calling him just yet. Whatever it was, he had decided that he wanted to be friends with both of them.

The boys spent the rest of the day teaching each other words in Russian and Japanese as it had started to rain outside and they weren’t allowed to be on the playground anymore. After some hesitation, Yurio had sat down with them as well, trying his best to pretend he was not repeating the words Yuuri taught Viktor. After all, he wouldn’t be left behind by them! If Viktor wanted to play with the new arrival, Yurio would make sure that they didn’t cause any trouble. Viktor got in enough trouble already on his own, he didn’t even want to find out how bad it could be if he left the two of them alone. And it really wasn’t so bad, though he would never admit that. He had a lot he could tell his grandfather today.

Yuuri was proud that by the time his mother and sister picked him up from kindergarten, he could say a few sentences in this new language already. It still sounded weird to him when he heard himself talk but with what he knew and the things Viktor and Yurio could say in Japanese too, they could have small conversations already without having to ask their teacher to translate constantly.

“So, how was your first day, squirt? Where they mean to you?”

Yuuri shook his head and looked at his sister, trying his best not to fidget in the car seat constantly.

“No! Yuuri met Viktor and Yurio and Viktor likes ice skating too and they have been teaching Yuuri how to speak in their language.”

Mari turned around at looked at her brother, surprised to hear him babble so happily about his new friends. It made her a little bit sad that he didn’t have to rely on her more but she was also happy that he was settling in so well. She had always been worried because even though Yuuri was only 3 years younger, he was incredibly shy and kept clinging to her whenever the other kids had been mean to him. She remembered that until he started ice skating, he didn’t have any friends at all and did everything he could to stay at home every day. But this time it was different. He had been in his new kindergarten for only a day and he already seemed happier than she had ever seen him at their old home. She smiled at him.

“That’s great, you will have to introduce them to us then.”

Yuuri nodded eagerly and then looked pensive for a moment before directing his words to their mother.

“Yuuri and Viktor want to ice skate, can we?”

Their mother chuckled a little and nodded while looking at the road.

“Since Mama doesn’t have anything to do yet on the weekend, why don’t we all go?”

Mari pulled a face, remembering the bruises she had taken home the last time she had tried to ice skate at Hasetsu Ice Castle.

“I think I’ll go and meet Mila instead. I met her at school today and she seemed really nice.”

Her mother nodded.

“I’m glad both of you have found new friends so fast. Your father and I were worried since we had to move so suddenly. While we hope it won’t be for more than a few years, we were worried you two wouldn’t like it here. But I guess we were wrong. I’ll make some nice snacks for you and Mila that you can eat while I take Yuuri and his new friend ice skating."

Yuuri cheered loudly and looked out of the window where the sun was already setting. Yes, moving here wasn’t that bad. He just hoped it would be weekend soon. For now he would see Viktor and Yurio again the next day and for the first time, he found himself looking forward to going back to kindergarten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Он тебе нравится больше, чем Юрий? - You like him better than Yuri?  
> Вы мне оба нравитесь. - I like you both.


	4. Excitement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri was pouting, he didn’t like this at all! Whys wasn't it weekend yet? He was looking forward to going to the skating rink with Viktor so much. In fact, he had been talking about it so many times that his sister only rolled her eyes when he as much as mentioned Viktor’s name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh nooo, I'm so happy about all the comments, thank you so much for reading my little scribble >o<
> 
> This chapter took a bit longer than I thought and was supposed to cover the skating. However, little Yuuri gets so cute when he is excited! And we finally meet Makkachin...well, somewhat!
> 
> Thank you again for reading!

Yuuri was pouting, he didn’t like this at all! Whys wasn't it weekend yet? He was looking forward to going to the skating rink with Viktor **so much.** In fact, he had been talking about it so many times that his sister only rolled her eyes when he as much as mentioned Viktor’s name.

“It won’t be weekend faster from you talking about it every moment, squirt.”

That’s what she said every day and Yuuri did **not like it**. Why couldn’t it be weekend already? Did people really have to work so many days of the week? Maybe they could go earlier. Yuuri didn’t even know what day it was today. He jumped off his bed and went to the calendar his mother had placed carefully on his wall. It was full with ice skating cartoons in Russian. While Yuuri was by now able to have a resemblance of a conversation with Viktor that was made up for more than their names, he still couldn’t read. Before they had left Japan, he had started reading his very first hiragana and he had been really proud. He was even able to write his and Viktor’s names. Viktor had insisted to learn how to write their names in hiragana as well and they had spent a whole day writing each other’s names on any piece of paper they could find, much to Yurio’s dismay.

He looked at the sheet indicating the current month, April, and counted the days until he reached what he thought was the current date. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed that it was Friday, meaning it was almost weekend.

Weekend! Viktor! Ice skating! Yuuri jumped in the air, letting out a delighted squeal at the thought. A few moments later, his door opened and Mari entered, looking at him with worry in her eyes.

“Onee-chan, Onee-chan, it’s weekend tomorrow, right?”

He ran to her and pulled on the hem of her shirt, eyes sparkling with innocent excitement. How could he not be excited when they would be ice skating with Viktor the next day? His sister looked at him a bit dumb-founded before breathing a sigh of relief and ruffling his hair.

“Yes, tomorrow is Saturday, squirt.”

Mari’s voice was slightly amused. Sure, it was annoying when he kept talking about Viktor and Ice skating every single day whenever he opened his mouth but she preferred this to Yuuri sitting alone in his room, trying his best not to look depressed. She had decided that she liked this Yuuri better and if the sacrifice was to hear him talking about his friend and ice skating constantly, then she was willing to endure that.

Yuuri was still holding on to the hem of her shirt, looking up at her.

“Do you think it will be fun? Do you think he…he will laugh at Yuuri if Yuuri falls?”

Suddenly Yuuri’s voice was quivering and his anxiety threatened to cloud the joy he had been feeling only moments ago. He remembered how Nishigori had pushed him and called him fat on his first day at Ice Castle. But Viktor wouldn’t do that….right?

His sister ruffled his hair again and smiled, kneeling down to be at eye level with her little brother.

“Of course not. You and Viktor have been getting along so well, why would he tease you now, Yuuri?”

Yuuri sighed in relief. Of course, Viktor had only been nice to him and even Yurio has been less grumpy whenever he decided to keep them company. Viktor was his friend and Yuuri could honestly say, that he had never been this happy before, which was strange since he had just left 3 long years of his life in Japan behind. Three years were such a long time and he had only been in this new country for a short time. And yet every day filled him with more and more happiness. It almost felt like a dream to him.

He looked up and nodded at his sister, the smile from only moments before returning to his lips as the excitement took over again.

“When can Yuuri sleep so that it is tomorrow faster?”

Mari chuckled. Her brother was usually up as long as possible, always asking for a few more minutes to do this or that. She couldn’t recall a single time he had asked to sleep early before.

“It’s almost time for dinner, so only a little longer. If you wake up too early and get tired early, you won’t like it, right?”

Yuuri nodded, he wanted the next day to come **really** fast but he didn’t want to be too tired to enjoy it because he got up too early. So he decided to hang in there and wait for his bed time like the big boy he felt he was. He wasn’t as little as Yurio anymore, he could be patient.

They would pick Viktor up from his home in the morning tomorrow and go to a nearby ice rink that had a separated area for children that could already skate on their own. Yuuri was proud that he was actually pretty good with the skates already. He could make some small tricks and even jump just a little. Of course he couldn’t make a jump like he had seen on TV yet but he managed a whole rotation once – a whole one! The pain that followed when he fell afterwards hadn’t been as exciting, though. But that’s ok, he still had a lot of time to get better and it was always more fun to learn new movements together with friends.

Only a few minutes later, their mother called both of them for dinner and Yuuri had to hold himself back to not jump down the stairs in excitement. After dinner he would take a bath and then he could finally go to bed!

While Yuuri tried his best to not be too bubbly during dinner, he ended up talking about the upcoming day with a wide grin on his face anyway. His rising excitement made him realize how much he had missed skating. In Hasetsu, he could go to the ice rink at any time but here he needed his parents to drive him. It wasn’t supposed to be that far away, but Yuuri didn’t know the direction. He hoped he would be able to go alone when he felt like it eventually or with Viktor if the other boy wanted to come.

When they finish eating, Yuuri and Mari get to take their baths first. Yuuri had begged to take it together with his sister but ever since they had moved, she had insisted that he should start taking his baths alone. He didn’t really understand why but had no choice but to oblige. Soaking in the tub, Yuuri’s thoughts were once again on the coming day’s plans and not even the biting shampoo could get the grin off his face.

Yuuri didn’t really know how long he had spent in the bathroom, only that his father poked his head in at some point and told him to hurry as he should have been in bed already. He yawned loudly and dashed by the living room to announce that he would now be sleeping and that he should not be disturbed.

But despite being so very tired, sleep wouldn’t come to Yuuri. He turned, got up, lied down and turned again. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see an ice rink and imagined him and Viktor skating on it. He wondered how good Viktor was, he was a year older after all and so good at so many things! Yuuri was always amazed how his pictures and crafts turned out in Kindergarten. He didn’t have much talent himself and whenever he tried to draw, he thought it looked like a carrot with legs. Yurio, of course, was just too eager to agree with this sentiment. Not that the younger boy’s images looked any better, though.

Yuuri sighed and fished for a fluffy plush poodle that Viktor had given him after naptime on Yuuri’s second day. It had been Viktor’s favourite plush, he called it Makkachin. At first Yuuri had tried to protest but Viktor had insisted he kept it so he wouldn’t feel alone at night when Viktor couldn’t be with him. He had **never** before received such a gift. The plush smelled of Viktor and Yuuri was sure that the other boy was missing it too and yet he had given it to Yuuri.

He pulled Makkachin close and inhaled Viktor’s smell for a second. Somehow that always calmed him down and a few minutes later, he was deep asleep, clinging to the worn but much loved toy as if life depended on it.

***********************

“Mama! Mama! We need to leave! Yuuri wants to skate!”

Yuuri had no idea what time it was but he knew the sun was already up and that meant it was weekend and they just had to leave to skate as soon as possible!

His sister poked her head out of her room’s door and groaned.

 “It’s 6am squirt, it’s too early to leave!”

Mari yawned and stretched a little, looking at her brother’s shining eyes and she knew there was no way she would get any more sleep now. She sighed in defeat and made her way to the kitchen, starting to prepare breakfast. In japan, she had often helped out with the preparations for the guests’ breakfast so Mari had no problem with cooking.

She wondered if she should make any snacks for her friend Mila, who would come by after Yuuri and their mother had left but decided against it when she opened the fridge and found it stuffed to the brim with a variety of different foods.

A few minutes later, their mother entered the kitchen, a fully dressed and excited Yuuri clinging to the hem of her shirt.

“Yuuri is sure that Viktor is already waiting!”

Their mother chuckled and helps Yuuri on a chair before sitting down herself.

“We still have a bit of time before we pick up your friend. Look, your sister has already made breakfast for us, isn’t that nice?”

She smiled at Mari, grateful that she had gotten a bit more sleep. Yuuri’s and Mari’s father always had to leave the house before dawn and wouldn’t be back before later in the evening. Mari missed the closeness the family had in their old home, despite the worries and stress running a Hot Spring came with. At least they had been able to have meals together and they always had managed to exchange a small random conversation over the day. That simply wasn’t possible here but Mari would never complain about it. Leaving their family’s Hot Spring had been hard for their parents and she didn’t want to be ungrateful for everything they were doing for them.

Her eyes switched to her little brother again, who was happily eating his Miso soup, humming the music to his favorite song called “History Makers”. She had no idea what the lyrics meant as they were all in English but she somehow liked the sound of it too, despite the small sad note the song sometimes carried.

“Onee-chan’s food is really tasty!”

Yuuri’s sudden voice startled Mari a bit but she smiled and ruffled his hair again.

“That’s good, I am sure you can cook soon too, you just need to get a bit taller first.”

Yuuri nodded eagerly. He had always wanted to learn to cook since he was sure that he would travel a lot in the future to see a lot of ice skating and he couldn’t possibly waste money eating out constantly!

After they finish their breakfast, their mother packs some of the food she had prepared for herself and the two boys and told Mari how to warm up the rest. While they were talking, Yuuri kept pulling on their mother’s shirt, whining that they had to go or Viktor might decide he didn’t want to come anymore.

Mari tilted her head a little. She was happy that Yuuri was so excited but she was starting to think that he was bringing up Viktor just a bit too much. Pushing it on the fact that he had almost no other friends, not counting the kid called Yurio that he mentioned sometimes, she ruffled his hair one more time and watches him and their mother leave.

To be continued….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate any feedback you can give me in the comments! Let me know what you thing!
> 
> On another note - this story is getting much longer and will possibly have a continuation where they are older. Would anyone be interested in that?


	5. Skating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys arrive at the skating rink, an exciting day ahead of them!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your comments and Kudos, I'm so grateful to everyone that likes this story!
> 
> I'm sorry the update took so long. I'm also working on another AU so I was a bit torn on where I should continue since the stories are so different!
> 
> text in italics refers to the boys talking. They usually communicate with a mix of Japanese and Russian so I wanted to point that out a little. Non-italics text is usually people talking to each other in their native language. I don't expect to use google translate anymore from now on.
> 
> Also, when Yuuri's mother mentions Yuu-chan, it refers to Yuuri, she will always use Yuuko-chan when referring to his friends in Hasetsu. From Yuuri's POV, Yuu-chan referrs to Yuuko, I hope it's not too confusing ><
> 
> Also sorry, this is not beta-ed atm. I did proof read but I might (certainly) have missed something.

Yuuri’s eyes opened wide when they arrived at a large townhouse surrounded by an elegant garden. While Yuuri was used to the huge property that came with owning a hot spring, this kind of house just looked so … different?

“Mama, Mama, is this where Viktor lives? It’s so biiiiiig!”

His mother chuckled and got out of the car, helping Yuuri offhis children’s seat. After a moment of insecurity, Yuuri ran do the gate, wrapping his hands around the bars, calling Viktor’s name excitedly. While waiting, his eyes darted over the property, taking in the elegant garden that seemed to be devoid of any kind of toys to play with.

Yuuri was about to call for Viktor again, when the front door of the townhouse opened and the other boy darted out, skates thrown over his shoulder. When his eyes found Yuuri, a huge smile spread across his face and his paces quickened even more until he reached the gate, slightly out of breath.

Yuuri poked his head through a bigger hole in the metal gate and grinned as well. He had this big urge to hug Viktor but found the gate was inconveniently in the way so he settled with grinning at the older boy.

_“Did Viktor have to wait long? Yuuri wanted to come sooner but everyone said it was too early.”_

He pouted a little but didn’t manage to keep the expression due to the happiness he was feeling. Finally he could skate and with his new friend nonetheless. It was odd, really, but somehow it felt to Yuuri as if he had known Viktor for so much longer than a week.

Finally having regained his breath, Viktor looked at Yuuri again and shook his head before turning around, looking at the person that had now appeared and was going towards the front gate. He turned to Yuuri again and reached through the gate, ruffling his hair in his to Yuuri familiar way.

_“I couldn’t sleep at first so….I only woke up really late. But that’s ok, I didn’t have to wait long like that!”_

Yuuri giggled a little, pulling away from the gate.

_“Yuuri couldn’t sleep either but Makkachin helped!”_

He blushed a little, suddenly becoming aware of how much of a baby that must have sounded. He didn’t want Viktor to think he was a baby, he wasn’t anymore. Viktor, however, gave him a satisfied nod, looking pleased with himself.

_“Makkachin has helped me a lot too, he will always protect you!”_

In the meantime, the woman had reached the gate as well and greeted Yuuri’s mother in polite English. They discuss the day’s plans and agreed on a time for Viktor to return before the gate clicked and finally allowed them to leave. After making sure the boys are securely in their seats, Yuuri’s mother slowly started the car and smiled at the boys in the mirror before getting on the way to the ice rink, which was supposed to be only a short trip away

Yuuri happily swung his legs before he turned to Viktor, who looked equally excited to finally start the day’s adventure.

_“Was that Viktor’s mother? Yuuri thought she was pretty.”_

Viktor was quiet for a moment before shaking his head, his smile seeming less radiant than before.

_“Housekeeper, she watches the house when my parents are away…I don’t like her…..”_

Yuuri blinked, unused to seeing Viktor anything but happy. He reached over, taking both of Viktor’s hands into his own.

 _“Viktor can stay with Yuuri’s family if he is lonely,_ right Mama _?”_

Yuuri’s mother blinked and looked at Yuuri through the mirror, smiling a little

“You need to tell me in Japanese, Yuu-chan, Mama’s Russian isn’t as good as yours yet.

Yuuri repeated what he had said to Viktor in Japanese and his mother smiled, nodding softly.

“Viktor can stay over at any time, as long as his parents agree.”

Yuuri let out a happy squeal and told Viktor what his mother had said, watching happily as the silver-haired boy’s face spread in a wide smile and hugged Yuuri as good as possible with the seatbelts holding them back. They grinned at each other and spent the rest of the car trip discussing plans for a possible sleepover in the near future.

*********************

Yuuri’s jaw dropped as he scrambled out of the car in front of the ice rink. It was **so huge** compared to the one he was used to and it looked like a lot of people were in it as well. He swallowed dryly, suddenly feeling nervous at the thought of having so many people watch him. In Hasetsu, it usually had only been Him, Yuu-chan and Nishigori, maybe a few adults here and there. But this was different, this was **big** and **crowded**. He winced and found himself hiding behind Viktor, who looked at him slightly confused for a moment before he placed a hand on Yuuri’s head.

“ _Don’t worry, I’ll protect you._ ”

Yuuri smiled a little and nodded. He took a deep breath and straightened up. He could do this, he was a big boy and he knew he was good at ice skating for his age, or so he had been told at least.

They entered the arena together after struggling through admission and Yuuri’s mother pointed to a row of seats near the children’s area.

“Mama isn’t so good with skates, so I’ll be waiting for you.”

Yuuri nodded and felt excitement bubbling up again as he and Viktor got closer to the children’s rink, which looked rather deserted compared to the main area. Most of the other children Yuuri could spot were older than him and Viktor and were skating with all the grown-ups. It was confusing, really, especially since most of them had trouble staying on their feet.

When they reached the benches, they helped each other put on their skates. Yuuri jumped down after he had made sure that the blade protectors were tightly over the blades so they wouldn’t get damaged. Shortly before they had left Hasetsu, Yuuri’s parents had bought him a set of ice skates he had been begging for. They had told him they were expensive but one day he had found them next to his bag instead of the old ones he had been slowly but surely outgrowing at the time.

He looked down on the blades and smiled before turning to Viktor, who had just gotten up and stood behind him. They took each other’s hand and slowly made their way to the opening door. Upon arrival, Yuuri leaned himself on Viktor’s shoulder and took of his protector’s, waiting until Viktor had done the same before setting his blade on the ice.

Suddenly Yuuri was at home. He let himself slide to the middle of the rink, enjoying the feeling of the air passing him, just like it had done in Hasetsu. When he arrived at the middle of the rink, he turned around and looked at Viktor, who was slowly sliding towards him with more grace than Yuuri had even seen Yuu-chan skate with. He beamed at his friend, clapping.

_“Viktor is so good, Yuuri wants to be as good as Viktor.”_

The older boy grinned at him happily and made a small spin, coming to a halt right in front of Yuuri. He bowed a little and poked Yuuri playfully.

_“You’re good too, show me what you can do?”_

Yuuri blushed a little but nodded. He closed his eyes and skated a bit away before going through the elements he had worked on before. He could go backwards, do some simple spins and skate while balancing on one leg. He didn’t feel like it was much and felt like he must have looked incredibly clumsy. Before skating back to Viktor, he gathered all his courage, gathered speed and jump, almost managing a full rotation again before he felt his blades sliding away below him and his face crashed against the hard surface of the ice.

He felt dazed, not completely sure what had happened when he felt Viktor’s hands on his cheeks, worry in his voice when he spoke.

 _“Yuuri, Yuuri! Are you ok?_ Daijo….jo….daijou…fu? _”_

Yuuri slowly sat up and blinked, nodding more to himself than the other boy in front of him. He felt the sting in his face and knew he was completely red from embarrassment. He had wanted to impress Viktor and had made a complete idiot of himself. He felt a familiar burning in his eyes and tried to hold back the tears, with little success. A small sob escaped him and he hurried to rub his eyes, not wanting to cry. Viktor looked at him for a moment before wrapping his arms around him and speaking soothing words next to Yuuri’s ear. He didn’t understand what the other boy said in Russian but it felt nice and soothing, made him comfortable.

After a few moments, Viktor let go and smiled at Yuuri, ruffling his hair.

_“Yuuri did really well, I really liked when you were spinning, it was so fast! I can’t do that so well…”_

Yuuri blinked at the unexpected praise. He had been so focused on impressing Viktor by jumping that he hadn’t considered that his strength might be in something else. He smiled shyly and mumbled a small ‘thank you’.

_“Do you want to see what I can do?”_

Yuuri nodded eagerly. He liked to show what he could do already but he had also loved to watch his friends skate or to watch figure skating on TV. He was hoping that one day when he was older, he would be able to be as elegant as Yuu-chan or the grown-ups he had seen on TV. Viktor gave him another small hug and helped Yuuri get to the barrier before skating a bit away and bowing slightly.

The silver-haired boy closed his eyes for a moment and then Yuuri’s world stopped. He found himself watching Viktor with wide open eyes as his friend made some spins, imitated some of the positions Yuuri had seen on TV before and then jumped, turned once and landed on his blades without falling. It had been a bit wobbly but Viktor had stayed on his feet. Yuuri clapped loudly as Viktor bowed again and couldn’t get his eyes off the other boy as he skated close again.

_“Viktor is amazing……”_

The other boy blushed and smiled at Yuuri, eyes radiant with joy at Yuuri’s praise.

_“Not….not really. I want to…I want to be in competitions when I grow up so…so I have to learn a lot….”_

Yuuri nodded eagerly, grasping Viktor’s hands in a similar way he had in the car before.

_“Yuuri too! Yuuri wants to train with Viktor so…so….”_

He blushed a little again before continuing his sentence. It came out quietly and more as a question than a statement but Yuuri meant it nonetheless.

_“So…Viktor and Yuuri can skate on the same ice for a competition?”_

The other boy looked at Yuuri for a moment before nodding eagerly.

_“I want to skate a lot with Yuuri and Yurio too when he is older. I have….so much fun….it’s more fun than just skating alone….”_

They smiled at each other with Yuuri still holding on to Viktor’s hand, squeezing them.

_“Promised?”_

Viktor nodded and closed his eyes.

_“Promised, we’ll always skate together.”_

Yuuri felt happier than he ever had before. Not only would he be able to skate with his friends, but they would be working together to go to competitions, something he had never thought would be possible in Hasetsu, not like this.

_“Will…will Viktor help Yuuri…with the jumps and…..and show Yuuri how to move like Viktor does?”_

The other boy grinned, pulling him into yet another hug.

_“I promise I’ll be your coach so let’s get strong together!”_

 They stayed like this for a moment until Yuuri’s mother waved at them and called them over to have some lunch.

\--

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, what did you think? I so fell in love with the two of them skating!
> 
> Little Viktor melted my heart when he tried to say "daijoubu" because he was so worried about Yuuri. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear your opinion/criticism!
> 
>  
> 
> Oh Also, I have created a series for this as there will be a time jump at some point. I am not sure if I keep it all in this fic yet or make a new one for this :)


	6. Playing house

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor has a great idea as to what they can play when they get bored: Papa-Papa-Child!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all THANK YOU for all the lovely comments, they made me so happy, I never thought so many people would be reading this, it was only meant to be a one-shot at the beginning, haha! You guys make me grin so much so THANK YOU again!
> 
> Fast update today since I was hit with a bit of inspiration! I hope you like this chapter. We get a bit of insight into Yurio's PoV too, yay! 
> 
> As for the skating comment, I hope no one got confused by Yuuri and Viktor jumping in the previous chapter. These obviously aren't real figure skating jumps, they just bounce up a bit and try to turn while doing it. They are way too small to really have done anything else.
> 
> Not beta-ed atm!

Yuri Plisetsky yawned, having problems to keep up with his father’s steps as he brought him to Kindergarten. He didn’t mind getting up usually but he had spent the weekend feeling bored and a bit hurt. He knew that Viktor and the other Yuuri (he preferred referring to him as katsudon) would go ice skating and no matter how much he begged, the only answer he had gotten was that he was too young and would only hurt himself. He was only two years younger than Viktor and katsudon was hardly any older than him. So his weekend had been very uneventful. He usually would have spent it with Viktor, the two of them doing whatever came to their mind but obviously that hadn’t been an option.

 He yawned again and looked at his father, noticing that they had arrived. He bent down and kissed his cheek, smiling a little.

“Be a good boy Yuratchka. Papa will have to be away for a few days so dedushka will pick you up later.”

He nodded in silence, there wasn’t really anything he could say. His father often had to travel because of work and his grandfather had told him that he is a great actor and therefore had to go to other countries a lot. Yuri didn’t mind so much, he liked spending time with his grandfather, he liked it a lot.

Waving goodbye, his father left him with one of the teacher and disappeared behind the wall surrounding the property. The teacher guided him inside where an excited Viktor and a smiling katsudon waved at him. Huffing a little, he freed himself from the teacher’s hand and walked over to Viktor and katsudon. He made sure to go as slow as possible, he was still a bit angry with them for abandoning him after all and he had to make sure they understood that. No one abandoned Yuri Plisetsky and got away without feeling his wrath for it. He sat down on a chair opposite the two other boys and pretended that the table was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Yuriooooooo! We had so much fun on the weekend, I wish you could have come too!”

Yuri sighed, of course Viktor had to bring the weekend right away. He looked at the older boy and shrugged, biting his lip as he spoke.

“When…when I’m older…..I’ll come….”

Viktor nodded eagerly and translated what they had said to katsudon, who nodded in agreement. It was incredibly frustrating that Yuri still had problems talking to him properly. It had gotten a bit better but Viktor still had to translate a lot.

“ _Yuuri thinks…Yurio will be really good so….”_ the back-haired boy had to think for a moment before continuing in a shy voice. “…. _so make sure to come…..”_

He looked at Yuri and smiled, holding out a little keychain with a white and brown cat dangling on it. Yuri’s eyes opened wide and le looked from the keychain to the other boy.

“ _For me?”_

The Japanese boy nodded and pushed the little item into Yuri’s shaking hands, grinning happily. Yuri looked at Viktor, who seemed to be incredibly pleased with the reaction the item had caused.

“Yuuri wanted to get you something because you looked sad, isn’t he nice?”

Yuri was about to nod but managed to stop the motion before it could be noticed. He knew that katsudon was nice but he didn’t want him to know that he knew. Actually, that thought made a knot in his head and he looked at Yuuri again, mumbling a small ‘thank you’ in Russian, not sure if it would be understood, which was absolutely fine!

*************************************

Yuuri felt happy. He had hoped that Yurio would like the gift they had gotten him but he also was never sure how the younger boy would react. Sometimes, he thought that Yurio enjoyed his company and sometimes he felt bad for being there because he was being glared at. It was a mystery to Yuuri, which is why he had insisted to let his friend know that he had noticed how upset he had been.

While feeling bad about having to leave Yuri behind, though, Yuuri had also been happy to have their time at the ice rink just for themselves. Something just seemed to klick in place when he was with Viktor and it relaxed him.

Yuuri knew perfectly well that many people considered him too young to be skating too. The only reason he had been able to start before he was 3 had been that the local ice rink in Hasetsu had been owned by his friend’s parents. He had been told firmly that usually it wasn’t good for children to start before the age of 3, 4 preferably. Viktor had told him that he had started around the same time as Yuuri had, which felt a bit like a blow to the younger boy. Viktor was so much better than him. He didn’t think that Yurio would start for a while, though. The blond boy looked so fragile, any adult would want to wait until he grew a bit more.

“ _Let’s play something!”_

Viktor’s sudden statement startled Yuuri out of his thought and he looked at the older boy, tilting his head a little.

“ _Play what?”_

Obviously, Viktor hadn’t thought that far yet. He opened his mouth and closed it again without making a sound. In the meantime, Yurio was busy playing with his new keychain, grinning when he thought Yuuri and Viktor wouldn’t see him. It made Yuuri happy to see the younger boy so happy. It almost made him think that his presence wasn’t completely unwelcome by him.

“ _I got it, let’s play family, I’m the Papa!”_

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. How were they supposed to play family, they were all boys?

“ _Everyone is a Papa?”_

It was really the only thing he could think off. Or maybe they could ask some of the girls to join them but they weren’t really any fun to be with. It’s not that Yuuri didn’t like them but they were easily frustrated when he couldn’t follow their Russian too well and started making nasty comments behind his back. On top of it, they seemed to be annoyed that Viktor spent so much time with Yuuri even though he didn’t know why. Viktor did what he wanted and Yuuri never forced him to play, even though he was happy the silver-haired boy seemed to enjoy his company.

As if on cue with Yuuri’s thoughts, Viktor started grinning and shook his head, jumping from his chair.

“ _No, that would be boring. I’m the oldest so I’m the Papa. Yuuri is the…other Papa and Yurio is the child!”_

The blond boy groaned in annoyance, shaking his head furiously.

“I don’t want you to be the child AND have two Papas, that’s so confusing!”

Viktor rolled his eyes and hugged Yuri, making big puppy-dog eyes at him.

“Please Yurio? Please? Please? Pleaaaaaaaaase?”

Yuri huffed, shaking his head again and looking away. Yuuri could almost see Viktor thinking of a way to convince him. When a grin spread across his face again, Yuuri couldn’t help chuckling a bit even though he hadn’t understood most of their conversation. Yurio always gave up and did what Viktor wanted to in the end, too.

“You can have my pudding and my Pirozhki, I have both with me today!”

Yurio squinted at him, obviously considering whatever offer Viktor had made him. Yuuri still couldn’t completely wrap his head around the fact that they would have two Papas.

“Pudding AND Pirozhki? Promised? You won’t forget?”

Viktor nodded eagerly, grinning at the blond boy. A few words later, Yuuri knew by the shift in Yurio’s position that Viktor had, as always, won the fight. Viktor let out a little scream and the three of them made their way to one of the playing corners full of toys, Viktor taking the lead as he explained their family.

“ _So, so I am the Papa that has to go to work and bring home money so my….”_ He thinks a moment and looks at Yuuri, unsure how to refer to him. “…. _my…..hubby and son can be happy!”_

Yuuri frowned a little and pouted.

“ _Yuuri wants to work too!”_

Viktor sighed and frowned a little.

“ _But if both Papas work, who takes care of the child?”_

Yurio rolled his eyes and started playing with his new cat keychain.

“ _Both Papas can work but maybe not at the same time?”_

Viktor’s eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly while Yuuri looked at them a bit skeptical. This family setting was so odd but it didn’t feel wrong. He had thought that a family would always have a Mama and a Papa but he guessed two Papas could work too. They were just playing anyway so what did it matter? He didn’t want to pretend to be a Mama so this would have to do.

After deciding on some more general things, like Yurio liking Viktor-Papa more than Yuuri-Papa, which he just agreed to a bit too eagerly for Yuuri’s taste, they started playing. Viktor-Papa was being dramatic since he needed to leave is cute, cute family behind to go to work as a great figure skating pro. He hugged Yurio tightly, patting his head and promising him to bring a lot of presents when he came back and then turned to Yuuri.

Yuuri was about to give him a hug as well but Viktor just shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest while looking at Yuuri.

“ _Yuuri is my hubby and it’s a rule to kiss your hubby before he goes to work.”_

_“Eeeeh? Yuuri hasn’t heard about that!”_

_“It’s a rule, you have to do it or something horrible will happen.”_

_“Just go to work Viktor-Papa before your son kicks you!”_

Yuuri had to chuckle at Yurio’s comment but Viktor didn’t budge, insisting that it was simply impossible for him to leave without a kiss since his feed were miraculously glued to the floor and only a kiss could make him move. Yuuri could swear he had just made that up, of course he had, but he stepped closer anyway and pressed an awkward kiss to Viktor’s cheek anyway, otherwise they would never be able to continue playing.

_“Eeeew, I need to wash my eyes!”_

Yurio started rubbing his eyes theatrically and made small gagging sounds, which caused Viktor’s grin to only get bigger. He gave Yuuri a hug and then pretended to go to work, jumping around in another corner of the room, supposedly showing his great skills on the ice.

Yuuri turned to Yurio and they had their pretend-breakfast with Yurio lamenting about how bad Yuuri-Papa could cook and that he hoped Viktor-Papa would be home again soon. It was, fun, a lot of fun if Yuuri had to be honest.

When Viktor-Papa came home, Yuuri-Papa had to go to work. He gave Yurio a hug, which their child commented with how much he wouldn’t miss him and then looked at Viktor, who was bouncing on his feet, waiting to give Yuuri his goodbye kiss. Instead, Yuuri grinned at him and gave him the quickest hug ever.

“It’s a rule that getting a goodbye kiss from your husband glues your feet to the floor so Yuuri doesn’t want it.”

Viktor looked positively crushed and Yuuri giggled, running off to the other side of the room, pretending to dance. He had decided he worked in one of those music places that he heard grown-ups had a lot of fun in. Well, there was music so they must be dancing and dancing is fun.

When Yuuri-Papa came home, they had dinner together and their family day ended. Viktor nodded happily and declared that they should play this more often, which made Yurio groan again and Yuuri roll his eyes. Not that he minded too much but it wouldn’t do any good to get Viktor too much into playing family or they wouldn’t do anything else ever again.

One of the teachers came over to them and smiled, letting them know that it was time to have lunch. After sitting down, Yurio made sure to snatch the pudding and one of the pirozhki before Viktor could blink.

_“I earned it for having two stupid Papas in that stupid play!”_

\------

To be continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren't they just adorable? I love how Yuuri turned the tables to not kiss Viktor! I do feel obliged to say that while all this happens, they are only friends at this point, haha. Just in case it wasn't obvious!
> 
> And comments and feedback are much appreciated!


	7. Of crayons and thunderstorms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I rewrote this chapter about 10 times and I'm still not really satisfied with it so I'm sorry!
> 
> This is a bit of a transitioning chapter; still cute and fluffy but not exclusively.
> 
> Not beta-ed atm but I tried to get as many mistakes as possible.

A soft hissing sound was all the warning Yuuri got before a not-so-happy Yuri Plisetsky jumped at him and knocked him on the floor. The younger boy glared at him and tried to grab the yellow crayon from Yuuri’s hand.

_“Give it to me, Katsudon! There is no other left!”_

Yuuri would have been happy to give Yuri the crayon if he had just bothered to ask first. However, seeing that the younger boy hadn’t considered that course of action, Yuuri felt that he should not give in that easily. He had been busy coloring after all. He made a soft whining noise and pushed the hand with the crayon below his back where it couldn’t be reached.

“Нет, _Yuuri is using it! You can have it when Yuuri is done, stupid cat can wait!”_

That comment earned him another hiss from the 2-year-old and Yuuri thought for a second that he would try to use his nails to scratch Yuuri’s face. Before Yuri could actually do that, though, one of the teacher picked the blond boy up and forced him to look at her.

“Now, now Yura, is that really a way to treat your friend?”

Yuri hissed again and turned his head to glare at Yuri again.

“He won’t give me the yellow crayon!”

The teacher sighed and at Yuuri, who was getting up with Viktor’s help. Even though Yuuri had been with them for 3 months now, Yuri still started fights with him occasionally over the silliest things. More often than not, those quarrels ended with one of the crying. It was strange really since they were getting along most of the time. Maybe it was the warmth? This summer was turning out to be unusually warm for Russia and quarrels had become more frequent as an effect of that.

The teacher put Yuri down and kneeled down. She brushed his hair aside and spoke in a soft yet strict voice.

“I’m sure Yuuri will give you the crayon if you ask him. But it’s not nice to just try and take it away.”

Yuri opened his mouth to protest but closed it again without saying a word and just nodded. The teacher smiled at him.

“No apologize to Yuuri and ask him for the crayon, ok?”

Yuri looked down, biting his lower lip to try and keep the tears at bay. He didn’t want to apologize or ask but it was true that he had just tried to take the crayon without even asking. He slumped his shoulders and turned around reluctantly. Viktor was smiling at him encouragingly while patting Yuuri’s head at the same time. Yuri stepped a bit closer and watched as Yuuri half hid behind Viktor. Sometimes it was hard to believe that the Japanese boy was actually older than Yuri.

 _“’m sorry…..”_ Yuri mumbled while staring at the floor. He closed his eyes before continuing, his voice even lower. _“Can I have the crayon?”_

Yuuri still looked a bit skeptical but then smiled hesitantly before stepping closer as well. He opened his hand and held the bright yellow crayon out to the younger boy.

_“Yuuri doesn’t need it anymore so Yurio can have it….”_

They looked at each other, a small blush on both their faces. Yuri carefully took the crayon and smiled as well. Finally he would be able to finish coloring his cat.

Viktor beamed at both of them and hugged them at the same time, almost making their heads hit against each other. They went back to the table and continued coloring their respective pictures for a while until Viktor jumped up in excitement and held up his picture.

_“Look, look, doesn’t it look just like us?”_

Yuuri and Yuri looked at the picture. On it, 3 characters were on a frozen lake. Two of the figured, one with back and one with silver hair, were on ice skates and pulling a third, blond, figure on a sledge after them. Viktor had been drawing a picture of either himself and Yuuri or the three of them together almost daily now and with each day they started to look more like the actual people.

Yuuri looked at his on picture, a poodle, sighing deeply. He could as well have been drawing a pile of leaves. Even Yurio’s cat looked better than his poodle, which was incredibly frustrating. He sighed and turned the piece of paper into a ball, throwing it into the trash.

 _“Yuuuuri, why did you do that?”_ Viktor whined, rushing to rescue the picture. _“If you don’t want it, I keep it!”_

Yuuri pulled a face while looking down, averting his eyes from the offending picture, which was now being straightened by a very insistent Viktor.

_“Yuuri hates it….”_

Viktor looked at the picture, studying it intensely. When he looks back at Yuuri, his eyes sparkle and he grins.

_“But it’s Makkachin! Can I keep it? Please? Please?”_

Yuuri looked at Viktor in disbelief. He even had trouble seeing that his drawing was supposed to represent a poodle and Viktor had recognized his beloved plushy in it right away. He looked down again and nodded in defeat. Viktor beamed again and hugged him. He pushed his own picture to Yuuri proudly after writing his name on it.

_“Then Yuuri can keep Viktor’s picture, it’s like switching them, ok?”_

Yuuri smiled a little, looking at the picture of himself, Viktor and Yurio playing on the frozen lake. He still felt bad about his own drawing but he still was happy he had gotten Viktor’s picture.

_“No one gets my cat….”_

The two boys turned to Yurio, who was folding his hands protective over his cat picture to keep them from trading it around too. He growled a little before adding “….or the yellow crayon!”

*********************

“Hold on tight to your partner and make sure to follow the people in front of you closely.”

One of the teachers went past them, counting to make sure that no one was missing.  When she confirmed that everyone was present, the group of children started moving towards the park in which they would be spending the afternoon.

Yuuri looked around curiously while holding on to Viktor’s hand. Occasionally he would ask the older boy about a building that he wasn’t familiar with and Viktor would grin and tell him about the whole neighborhood. They passed through busy streets, making it hard for the teachers to keep everyone together in their assigned pairs.

_“It’s so waaarm….”_

Viktor sighed and let go of Yuuri’s hand for a moment to pull up his sleeves before holding on to him tightly once more. Yuuri tilted his head a little as he looked at Viktor, who looked positively exhausted and ready to melt.

_“In Hasetsu…..it’s way warmer than here….”_

Yuuri smiled a little, remembering the beach he had visited with his parents the previous summer. He sighed a little and shook his head, bringing his thoughts back to Russia. He had decided he wouldn’t be sad anymore and he intended to stick to that. Viktor was watching him from the corner of his eyes, using his free hand to push away some sweat.

_“Warmer than here? That’s possible?”_

Yuuri chuckled and nodded.

_“Muuuch warmer! Yuuri is actually a bit cold.”_

Viktor looked at him with wide eyes and squeezes Yuuri’s hand tightly.

_“I can help you stay warm!”_

The silver-haired boy grinned and gave Yuuri a quick hug before letting go again so they wouldn’t hold up the children behind them. Yuuri smiled at him but shook his head.

_“No, Yuuri is already big, Yuuri can keep warm.”_

Viktor pondered his words for a moment and then nodded.

_“Ok, but if you can’t, I’ll help!”_

Yuuri agreed and they spent the rest of their way mostly in silence. When they finally reached the park, the teachers warned them to not run too far off and to stay out of the adjunct forest so they wouldn’t get lost.

_“Let’s play hide and seek!”_

Yurio had strolled over to them after finally being able to get away from his assigned partner and frowned at Viktor.

_“There is nowhere to hide here…”_

Viktor shrugged and pointed to the forest, ignoring the immediate protest Yuuri was giving about how they were not supposed to go there.

_“I’ve know this place, it will be ok if we stay near the park!”_

Yuuri looked from Yurio to Viktor and sighed when he noticed the younger boy was looking unusually excited. It would be fine, right? They would stay near everyone else so there was no danger of any of them getting lost.

After a short game of rock-paper-scissor, a pouting Viktor had to face one of the trees and count to 10 while Yuuri and Yuri would be hiding. The two boys rushed to the forest after making sure that none of the teachers had seen them and soon split up to hide separately.

The forest wasn’t excessively thick near the park and Yuuri found that it was rather hard to find a good hiding spot. He could hear Viktor counting in the distance and decided to go just a little bit further so he wouldn’t be found right away.

He ran a bit further until he found a small hole in one of the trees that he could hide in. He giggled to himself and had to put his hands over his mouth so Viktor wouldn’t hear him. Yuuri was sure that the older boy would never find him.

He heard Viktor’s very faint voice in the distance when he finished counting and had to stop himself from giggling again. He made sure to listen carefully to see if he could hear Viktor approach and not long after his friend had started searching, he could hear Yurio’s voice echoing as he was found.

Yuuri secretly wondered how long it would take for Viktor to find him in his spot. He wasn’t exactly sure how far he had gone but it couldn’t be that far if he could still hear the other boy. He stifled a yawn and pulled his knees close, trying to keep the cold from creeping under his clothes. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he started having problems to keep his eyes open.

********************

Yuuri startled awake from thunder rumbling through the sky. At first, he wasn’t sure where exactly he was until he looked around and remembered the game they had been playing. How long had he been asleep? He didn’t know but he was sure he would be in trouble with the teachers by now. A shiver ran through him and Yuuri wrapped his small arms around himself. He could feel the dampness in his clothes and it took him another moment to hear the rain falling hard outside of the tree. Some of the wind had been carrying part of the rain inside and had soaked the front of Yuuri’s shirt. He sneezed and sighed, wondering if Viktor and Yurio had just given up on trying to find him. He didn’t think his friends would abandon him like that but they might have thought that Yuuri had gone back instead of hiding in the forest.

The thought made Yuuri’s eyes sting and a sob escaped him. With rain like that, the teachers would have taken everyone back to the kindergarten already, so did this mean Yuuri was all alone here? He sobbed again, hot tears running down his cheeks as another wave of thunder rumbled above him. He let go of his legs and pressed his hands to his ears. Yuuri hated thunder, it made him want to crawl under his bed and only come out when it was over.

“Viktor….Yurio…..”

He sobbed again, shivers running through his body as he started crying in earnest. He knew he shouldn’t have gone into the forest on his own and now he wasn’t even sure how to get back. Yuuri slowly lifted his hands and tried to listen for familiar voices when more roaring thunder made him close his ears again.

Yuuri knew he had to get back somehow, but how? It had been easy before since he had still been able to hear voices from the park. He dared take a peek out of his hiding spot with his hands still firmly placed above his ears but he pulled back almost immediately. The rain and dark clouds had changed the forest. Where it had looked interesting and inviting to Yuuri before, all he could see now where shadows trying to reach for him.

He pulled his knees closer to his chest again and dropped his head on them, continuing to hold his ears closed. Would people be looking for him? His parents and Mari would worry if he wasn’t with the other children. Yuuri felt tears rising in his eyes again but didn’t bother holding back the sobs this time.

***********************

Viktor didn’t know where Yuuri could be. He and Yuri had been searching the edge of the forest for what seemed to be forever now. He wondered if Yuuri had run further into the forest but knew it wouldn’t do any good to just blindly run into it. Looking down, Viktor clenched his fists when he heard the first rumbling of thunder approaching. In a matter of seconds, Yuri was clinging to his hands, pulling him towards the playground.

“We need to tell the teachers.”

Viktor nodded slowly and let the younger boy pull him. He knew they had to get help but he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that Yuuri was alone in the forest because he, Viktor, had suggested to play hide and seek in a place they shouldn’t have. He hoped Yuuri was safe.

The teachers were busy gathering the children to hurry back to the kindergarten when Viktor and Yuri arrived. One of them came close and smiled, looking around.

“Where did you leave Yuuri?”

Viktor looked down for a moment. He was scared, scared of getting into trouble and scared that Yuuri was all alone out there. He swallowed and bit his lower lip. He had wanted to protect the younger boy and now he was the reason he was alone somewhere. Viktor looked up at the teacher and allowed the tears burning in his eyes to fall while talking.

“We were playing hide and seek i-in the forest but….Yuuri…..we couldn’t find Yuuri….”

The teacher looked at him with alarm for a moment but then ruffled his hair.

“We’ll find him, thank you for telling me.”

She guided Viktor and Yuri to the group before talking to the other teachers. Soon the children were being put in their assigned pairs by two of the three teachers and started their way back. Viktor, now without a partner to hold on to, found himself looking back at the park. He didn’t want to leave, he wanted to find Yuuri. He stopped in his tracks and looked at the teacher behind him.

“I won’t leave until we find Yuuri.”

The teacher let out an exasperated sigh and looked at Viktor. The first drops of rain started to fall and the other children were complaining loudly that they wanted to go back. The teacher staying behind to look for Yuuri agreed to keep an eye on Viktor as well and that she would call the police if they couldn’t find the younger boy soon.

Not letting go of Viktor’s hand, they started to look at the edge of the forest where Viktor said they had been playing. It felt stupid, really, he had already searched all these places with Yuri. As the rain started getting stronger and the thunder got louder, the teacher decided to call the police. Viktor took the opportunity to run just a bit further as she let go of his hand.

Yuuri had to be here somewhere, Viktor just knew it.

“Yuuuuuuuriiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

He called the younger boy’s name as loud as possible, going deeper into the forest but not deep enough to lose his way. He could hear the teacher calling after him and turned around for a moment to make sure he could still see her too.

When the thunder stopped rumbling for a moment, Viktor thought he heard his name and a soft sobbing sound. He hurried forward, trying to follow the soft sounds until he saw a hole in one of the trees. How had he not noticed this before? Sure he was in further than he had wanted but….oh it didn’t matter! Viktor rushed to the tree after signaling the teacher his position and found a sobbing, curled-up Yuuri saying his and his family’s names over and over again.

Not caring that he was soaked or that Yuuri was soaked, he reached out and pulled the other boy into a tight hug. He felt Yuuri stiffen momentarily and then sob even stronger as relief washed over his body.

_“Yuuri thought….Yuuri thought no one would find Yuuri.”_

Viktor held on to him tighter, hot tears running down his cheeks as he spoke.

_“I will always find Yuuri, I promise….”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking until the end! 
> 
> Did you like it? Did you hate it? I'd be happy if you could let me know, please!
> 
> You can also check out my [ tumblr](https://chessala.tumblr.com/) for more info!


	8. Going home

Viktor refused to let go of Yuuri’s hand on their way back to the kindergarten or after they arrived. He even refused when the teachers started to take off their wet clothes until they were in their underwear. The only time he let go was to allow Yuuri’s wet pullover and his own wet t-shirt to fall to the floor. It took about 10 seconds and yet he grabbed Yuuri’s hand as if he was afraid the other boy would disappear again any moment. They were wrapped in blankets and their clothes were thrown into one of the kindergarten’s tumble dryers before the teacher escorted them back to the playroom where Yurio was already waiting for them.

For a moment, Yuuri saw relief in the younger boy’s eyes and he smiles at him. Yurio frowned and pretended to look away while still watching his friends from the corner of his eyes. Next to Yuuri, Viktor sighed and they went to one of the bright carpets sporting several Cyrillic letters. Yuuri could recognize, even if not read, most of them by now. He knew the characters used for his, Yurio’s and Viktor’s name by heart, too.

Yurio looked at them again and pressed his lips to a thin line before holding out his hand, a bright yellow crayon lying on it, waiting to be picked up.

“You can have it…..”

The words were spoken in such a small voice that Yuuri almost missed them. Almost. He smiled and took the crayon pressing it against his chest as if it was made of something of incredible value, like chocolate.

“Thank you, Yurio….”

The blond boy grumbled something and turned back to the building blocks he had been occupying himself with. Viktor and Yuuri sat down opposite him and started piling some of the blocks Yurio seemed to have abandoned. Soon a large wall with 4 towers had been built around Yurio and Viktor started giggling.

“It’s like you are the princess in the tower.”

“Your hair is longer than mine!” Yurio huffed.

He glared at the wall around him but didn’t destroy any of it. Instead, Yurio let himself fall down and looked at the towers with a small smile that didn’t fit the tone of his voice.

“You look like girl with it!”

Viktor’s eyes opened wide and he started shaking his head. He got up, pulling Yuuri up with him in the process.

“I can’t be a girl! How can I be Yuuri’s husband if I am a girl!”

Yuuri blinked in confusion, not sure when he had actually ever agreed to marry his silver-haired friend. It didn’t sound like Viktor was joking but after a moment, Yuuri couldn’t help giggling as he remembered their family plays that had started to become more frequent, much to Yurio’s dismay. He really enjoyed playing it, even if Viktor made some strange suggestions sometimes. The roles were always the same and even though Yurio protested sometimes and insisted he should be one of the parents, he usually still ended up as their son. Yuuri wondered why none of the other children ever wanted to join in but he wasn’t close enough to them to ask. He still wasn’t very good with making friends and it still made him sad sometimes. Yuuri turns around a little and looked at Viktor and Yurio, who had had started to assess Viktor’s hair more closely, and smiled. He was fine, he had the two best friends he could have ever wished for right here, didn’t he?

The rest of the day almost flew by for Yuuri and shortly after he and Viktor had been able to put on their clothes again, Yuuri heard his mother’s familiar voice in the hallway. Yuuri felt Viktor’s hand tighten around his own and the silver-haired boy smiled at him. Yuuri managed a small smile back but he honestly felt more like hiding. His mother would be so disappointed with him for not listening to the teachers and getting lost in the forest. He had promised her he would be a good boy, had promised her every single day and now he had broken that promise. A small, involuntary, sob escaped him and he hurried to brush away the tears that were gathering in his eyes again. He wouldn’t cry now, he would be strong and apologize for what he had done.

When his mother entered the room, she looked around until she saw Yuuri playing in the corner of the room. Her eyes rested on him for a few moments before she took a few quick steps to cross the room. She stopped in front of the boys and went down on her knees, wrapping her arms around Yuuri.

“Are you alright, Yuu-chan? You must have been so scared….”

Yuuri blinked, not sure how to react for a moment. He felt Viktor let go of his hand and wrapped his arms around his mother’s neck, finally letting the tears he had been holding back fall from his eyes. He could feel them wet his mother’s pullover but he didn’t care. All he cared about was that she wasn’t angry and he was so, so very relieved.

When Yuuri had calmed down, his mother let go of him and turned to Viktor, ruffling his hair affectionately.

“Thank you for finding him.” She said in accent heavy and broken Russian.

While they had all been studying the language, it didn’t come easily to her just yet. Viktor beamed at her and took Yuuri’s hand again, squeezing it tightly.

“I’ll always be there for Yuuri!” Viktor said, his eyes shining.

Yuuri looked down at their joined hands and leaned over to Viktor, whispering something into his ear. The older boy nodded excitedly, giving Yuuri a quick hug before he turned to his mother again.

“Mama…can Viktor sleep at our home today? Please?”

His mother looked pensive for a moment, musing over the question before answering slowly.

“Viktor is always welcome in our home Yuu-chan but we need to ask Viktor’s parents as well.”

Yuuri nodded eagerly and agreed to wait with Viktor while his mother called Viktor’s home with the help of one of the teachers to translate. He could feel excitement and fear curling in his stomach as the seconds ticked by, one longer than the previous one. What if they said no? Yuuri still remembered the look on the housekeeper’s face whenever the picked up Viktor on the weekend. It wasn’t exactly angry or unkind but Yuuri had the feeling that they didn’t particularly like minding the house. Maybe that was why Viktor always looked a bit sad when it was time to go home? Unconsciously, Yuuri squeezed Viktor’s hand again. He really wanted the other boy to be allowed to stay at his place today.

After what felt like hours to Yuuri, his mother finally came back into the room with a big smile on her face. She knelt down in front of them again and ruffled their hair at the same time.

“Viktor can stay with us tonight, isn’t that great?”

Yuuri jumped up and hugged his mother, pulling Viktor with him. His mother wrapped her arms around both of them and chuckled softly. When she got up, the teacher handed her a small bag, explaining that it contained some of the spare clothes each of the children had stored in case something bigger happened and it was impossible for them to wear what they had come with for the rest of the day. After taking the bag, she turned around again, speaking in a gentle voice.

“Shall we go?”

The boys nodded eagerly, still holding on to each other as they left the kindergarten with huge smiles on their face.

******************************

Dinners were always a chatty affair in the Katsuki household. While Yuuri was usually a shy and quiet boy in front of other people, no one would have ever guessed so if they had only met him at home.  He ran around, he pouted, he sang and he chatted happily when the people around him are the ones he trusted wholeheartedly.

But today was different. Mari couldn’t remember a time when Yuuri had ever been this excited during dinner. Ever since their mother had come home with Yuuri and his friend Viktor, much to Mari’s surprise, her little brother had practically been radiant with happiness. It made her smile more than usual as well.

She didn’t know Viktor very well and had only met him a few times when she had accompanied their mother to pick Yuuri up. But ever since his first day in the new kindergarten, her brother had been beaming whenever he had spoken about the other boy. He also mentioned a younger kid sometimes, Yurio if she remembered right, but he had also said that he felt like they had a bit of an odd friendship. In either case, he had been happier than she had ever seen him before.

The two boys were chatting with a mix of Japanese and Russian that Mari could follow pretty well due to the constant exposure to the two languages. Their talking also included a lot of hugging, which Mari thought was incredible cute. Yuuri didn’t initiate contact easily but when he was comfortable around someone, he relished in casual touches. Mari couldn’t count all the times he had clung to her hand or leg. Sometimes he would run into her and give her a brief hug before dashing off again. She could see that behavior in him with Viktor as well. It was heartwarming and she sincerely hoped that they would never grow apart in the future.

Mari had been lucky to find a close friend in her classmate Mila and Sara as well. Both of them tended to giggle a lot but they had been helping her find her way around and she enjoyed spending time with them. She couldn’t say that they were as close as her brother and his friend, but she was content nonetheless and felt that she could trust them to be there for her if she ever needed an open ear or a shoulder to cry on.

“You have to say hello to Makkachin!”

Mari blinked and looked at her brother, suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by his loud exclamation. Makkachin was the stuffed dog Yuuri had brought home from kindergarten before. She had asked him before where he had gotten it from but all Yuuri had said was that it had been a gift from a friend. Mari had left it at that and would have completely forgotten about the toy if Yuuri wouldn’t be dragging it around all the time in the house.

She looked at Viktor, who’s eyes had grown wide at the mentioning of the name. He nodded eagerly and both boys jumped off their chairs after Yuuri had asked their mother if they could get up. She followed them with her eyes and smiled. Coming to Russia might have been a very good thing in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you had fun! Thank you so much for reading!


	9. Sleepover

Yuuri didn’t have anyone sleep over before but he had always wanted to. One day he had overheard the other children in his group in kindergarten talk about how much fun it was. Their mothers would plan out activities they could do and they would only have the most delicious food for dinner. That day, Yuuri had been excited to ask his parents if Yuuko and Takeshi could sleep over; they were his best and only friends after all. But when he had gathered the courage to ask, he had looked at his parents and decided otherwise. The eating area of the hot springs had been packed and Yuuri could see the strain in his mother’s smile as she had hurried to serve dinner. Mari had taken his hand then and pulled him to the kitchen where their own dinner had already been prepared. They had sat down and eaten in silence before sneaking into their respective rooms and Yuuri remembered dimly how his mother had come into his room later and kissed him good night while apologizing.

He hadn’t considered asking for a sleepover again since then. His parents had always been too busy and he didn’t want to burden them more. So having Viktor sleep over was almost like a small miracle to Yuuri. Yes, they had spoken about it before, but having it actually happen was new and exciting. And it made Yuuri so very happy. During dinner, he had tried to stop grinning but found that it was just not a possibilities. He wondered what he and Viktor could do. In kindergarten they played together with Yurio most of the time but now it was only the two of them, unless Mari wanted to play with them. He stole a glance at his sister and chewed on the rice he had just put into his mouth. She always played with him but he sometimes wondered if she was bored by it. He knew that she preferred to play with her friends even if she didn’t say so.

Yuuri’s eyes wandered to Viktor and he couldn’t help grinning when he saw the older boy fumble with his chopsticks just to have his food drop back into the bowl. His mother had put a fork next to his dishes as well but Viktor had refused to use it, saying that he wanted to eat just like Yuuri and his family did. While he was now able to hold them without having the chopsticks cross, a very small amount of food had actually finished the journey to his mouth. Not that Viktor cared. His expression was still determined and for bite he managed to maneuver to its goal, he flashed a triumphant smile at Yuuri. He didn’t know why, but somehow Viktor’s progress made Yuuri feel proud as well so he didn’t point out that there was more rice glued around his moth than he had actually eaten.

After they got up, Yuuri took Viktor’s hand and pulled his friend to his room where the plush poodle, Makkachin, sat perched on Yuuri’s made bed, ready to be cuddled. They jumped on the fresh sheets and Viktor lifted the toy above his head, looking at it in amazement.

“ _Makka says he is happy with you.”_ Viktor said with determination, flashing a grin Yuuri’s way.

“ _Is Viktor sure…_.” Yuuri started, his voice shaking a little _“….that Viktor doesn’t miss him at home_?”

He looked at Viktor, not sure what answer he should expect. Viktor had gifted him the stuffed toy and Yuuri simply adored it for being a poodle and for it being a gift from his friend. But he also didn’t want Viktor to miss his beloved toy. So if the silver-haired boy ever wanted to take it back home, Yuuri would give it back without hesitation.

Viktor bounced a little on the bed before sitting up and placing the poodle between his crossed legs. His hair was a bit messy but his eyes sparkled when he looked at Yuuri and shook his head. He leaned over and took Yuuri’s hands, leaning his forehead against the younger boy’s.

“ _Makka wants to stay here!” Viktor chirped as he gently placed the plushy into Yuuri’s lap without moving away. “And I’m happy when you can sleep better with him around since I can’t come home with you._ ”

Yuuri felt a familiar sting behind his eyes. He didn’t know how much he had already cried that day, too much he thought. But this time they felt like happy tears so he let them run freely without holding them back. He squeezed Viktor’s hand before letting go and pulling Makkachin close, burying his face in the well-loved plush. His fur wasn’t as clean and fluffy anymore as Yuuri was sure it must have been when he was new but that only made him squeeze it harder. He could almost see Viktor when he had received the toy, looking at it with wide blue eyes before pulling it tightly against him just like Yuuri was now. It felt like a connection, something that only existed between them and Yuuri was glad for it.

When he finally let go, he looked up and noticed Viktor looking around the room curiously. While it was nothing like his room back in Hasetsu, Yuuri had brought all his important toys, books, and other items with him. It wasn’t like the toys he owned - small cars, plushies, building blocks and dolls - were any different from what was in Russia but they still felt like home to Yuuri. One of the things Yuuri loved most was a small wooden table that his father had built for him for his second birthday. The table was just high enough for Yuuri to kneel in front of it and it came with a set of skillfully carved cups and bowls. Yuuri remembered that he had envied his sister for her set and when his second birthday came around, his father had made an exact copy for him.

Opposite Yuuri, Viktor got up and made his way to Yuuri’s favorite table and sat down in front of it before turning back to Yuuri with a curious look.

“ _I haven’t seen a table like that before, it’s so low! What do you do with it?_ ”

Yuuri carefully placed Makkachin back on the bed and walked over to Viktor, sinking down on his knees. From a shelf next to him, he pulled out some of the dishes his father had made and proudly presented them to Viktor.

“ _Yuuri usually plays on it with Mari. In Japan, some tables are lower because we sit on the floor or kneel on them in older houses. Yuuri’s house had a lot of tables and guests would eat but they were sitting on the floor too_.”

Viktor blinked, looking confused as he spoke.

_“Why not use chairs?”_

Yuuri thought about this for a moment and then shrugged.

_“Yuuri doesn’t know…it’s just like that?_

That made Viktor giggle and he shifted to imitate Yuuri’s position before looking at him again.

_“So we can play that we are in your house in Japan and eating?”_

Yuuri laughed. They’d just had dinner but it was just like Viktor to suggest to play something that involved food. He could swear that Viktor easily ate double of what Yuuri did, unless when he tried to use chopsticks of course. Unable to think of anything else to play, Yuuri started telling Viktor about some of the food the hot springs served and how to eat them. The older boy listened intently, asking questions whenever anything seemed odd to him which, admittedly, was quite often.

 _“Aaaah….I want to see your home in Japan.”_ Viktor sighed after a while.

“It’s closed since we moved here. Mama and Papa said that….” Yuuri stopped his sentence suddenly and looked at Viktor, eyes growing wide as the meaning of what his parents had said suddenly registered in his mind.

“ _Yuuri?”_ Viktor scooted a bit closer and frowned, putting his hand on Yuuri’s. “ _What’s wrong?”_

“ _Mama and Papa they…they said…..that we will go back when we have more money.”_ He pressed out, voice barely above a whisper.

Viktor hesitated a moment but then wrapped his arms around Yuuri, hugging him tightly.

“ _If you go back, I come visit you every day. Japan isn’t that far away!_ ” the silver-haired boy said with determination in his voice.

Yuuri distinctly remembered that they had spent a long time in a flying machine called plane to come to Russia. He wasn’t sure how long exactly but he remembered being bored, very bored. So he wondered if Viktor could really come every day. Well, Viktor was older than Yuuri so maybe he knew these things better. Yuuri hoped he would understand things like Viktor did as well when he turned 4. His birthday wasn’t that far away and he was sure that he would understand everything way better after being one year older. He always felt like everyone that was older than him knew so much more.

Wrapping his own small arms around Viktor, Yuuri held on to the older boy for a moment before slowly disentangling himself and smiling a bit sheepishly. He could still feel the fear that he would have to leave one day nagging in his mind but he decided to ignore it for now.

_“Yuuri is still here so Viktor doesn’t have to worry!”_

The other boy looked at him with a slight frown but nodded. Viktor was about to say something else when they heard a knock on Yuuri’s door and his mother poked his head in after a moment.

“You boys can take your bath now and then you should sleep.”

They nodded and Yuuri takes Viktor’s hand again, guiding him to the bathroom. While the room was smaller than the one he knew from his home in Japan, they still had a nice bathtub in their current home with enough space for both of them to enjoy the warm water. They quickly undressed and slipped into the warmth, both of them sighing before they erupted in uncontrolled giggling.

 _“In Japan, Yuuri’s home has the biggest tub ever! It can fit soooo many people!”_ Yuuri stretched out his arms at his words to show the huge size of the hot springs. “ _And it’s outside so when it’s cold, there is a lot of….foggy stuff coming up from the water!”_

Viktor’s eyes opened wide and he looked down at the water and then at Yuuri.

_“So, it fits even more people than us?”_

Yuuri nodded eagerly, speaking in an excited voice.

_“So many more. Yuuri couldn’t count past 10 but there were more and there was still space.”_

Viktor started giggling again and let himself float on the water, bumping against Yuuri in the process.

_“We could swim in it, I so want to see it.”_

Looking at Viktor’s floating form, Yuuri suddenly grinned and pushed the older boy’s head gently under water, releasing him almost immediately so he could come up again. Viktor’s hair hang over his face and her parted it slowly using both his hands while keeping his eyes fixed on Yuuri, who in turn was trying to keep his laughter under control. Viktor seemingly relaxed before jumping at Yuuri, not caring about the large wave that splashed over the bathtub rim.

After a few minutes of squeaking and dipping each other under the water, Mari opened the door to the bathroom and took both of them out of the tub before toweling them dry and sending them to back to Yuuri’s room with an exasperated sigh and a promise that Yuuri would have to help in the kitchen the next day to make up for the mess.

The two boys hastily ran to the bedroom and slipped underneath the covers after Yuuri gave Viktor one of the Pajamas that were still too big for him. He was very much looking forward to wearing it since it had little snowballs and ice skates on it but he didn’t mind Viktor borrowing it at all. They giggled for a bit longer before the weight of sleep made first Viktor and then Yuuri yawn and they fell asleep holding onto each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting closer towards the end of the fic, I'm so sad and so excited at the same time.
> 
> As always, I'd be happy if you let me know what you think in the comments! \o/


	10. Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long! We're almost at the end of this story and it makes me sad and happy at the same time!
> 
> This chapter was unexpectedly hard for me to write but there has also been a lot going on in my life. I hope you enjoy it anyway! 
> 
> **Not beta-ed**

Yuuri pulled the blanket over his head, grinning to himself while holding on to Makkachin. The plushy had become his constant companion and when Yuuri lay in bed at night, he would tell him just about everything that had happened over the day. He knew Makkachin loved to hear about Viktor and sometimes Yuuri wondered if his plushy companion missed his previous owner. But Makkachin never looked sad so Yuuri had decided that he was happy.

And right now, Yuuri was  _ very _ excited to tell Makkachin about his upcoming fourth birthday. Four! He would be a big boy just like Viktor! He didn’t care that Viktor had been there longer than him, they would finally be the same age and it made Yuuri so happy that he had been bouncy all day.

“Makka listen! Yuuri will be four in a week!”

He giggled and rolled around, pressing the stuffed toy to his chest. He had always looked forward to his birthday but somehow this one was special. Ever since the incident in summer, Yuuri couldn’t wait to grow up. He had never forgotten the worried look in his mother’s eyes and he wanted to never see it again.

His smile faltered a little at the thought. He had been careful to not worry her since then and he thought he had succeeded. Being a whole year older would make things easier too, right? Yuuri took a deep breath and focused on the excitement he could still feel bubbling in his stomach until it filled his mind with happier thoughts again.

His parents had promised him that he could have a birthday party with all his friends. Despite being in Russia for what felt a long time by now, Yuuri only had two friends. He didn’t mind at all, though. Viktor and Yurio were the reason that he looked forward to every new day a little more. In the evening he wondered what games they would be playing the following day. On the weekends he often went ice skating with Viktor and the older boy had taught him so many things. Yuuri was still a bit shaky but he had fun on those days, more than ever before.

From below his blanket, he heard his room door opening and a few moments later a weight caused the mattress of his bed to dip down.

“You’re still awake, squirt?” Mari asked softly.

“Yuuri can’t sleep…” Yuuri answered while peeling back the blanket and looking at his sister. “Yuuri will be four soon, Onee-chan!”

Mari chuckled and ruffled his hair gently. Yuuri crawled out of the nest he had made for himself and curled up on his sister’s lap as she started humming softly. Mari did this sometimes, check on him and hummed a lullaby until Yuuri fell asleep. He loved her voice, the way it was soft and yet a little rough on the edge.

“Big boys shouldn’t use their own names when they talk.” She teased, interrupting her humming.

Yuuri thought about this for a moment. Mari was right, Viktor never used his own name when he spoke, not even Yurio did and he was only two! Yuuri frowned and as his lids started getting heavy, he decided that he would talk like a big boy starting from the next day.

“Yuuri loves Onee-chan…” he mumbled sleepily, unaware of the smile on his sister’s face.

“Love you too, little one.” She said and gently tugged him into his bed before leaving the room as quietly as possible.

************************

Talking like a big boy was  _ hard _ Yuuri decided. He had tried it during breakfast but he wasn’t always sure which words to use so he slipped back to using his own name more often than not.

He tried again on his way to kindergarten and when his mother praised him for sounding grown up, Yuuri felt his chest swell with pride. He could do this, he was almost four and Viktor and Yurio would be so impressed at how much older he suddenly sounded.

“Yuuuuuri!!!” Viktor called out from one of the windows when Yuuri came through the gate with his mother.

She let go of Yuuri’s hand and urged him to join his friends. Yuuri gave her a quick peck on the cheek and dashed off, running into the building and to the room where he knew Viktor would be. True enough he found them in a corner surrounded by building blocks. Yurio only gave him his usually grumpy look but moved to make some space for Yuuri anyway.

Yuuri grinned and joined them in their endeavour to use all the blocks available to build the biggest castle ever. An endeavour that failed spectacularly when Yurio decided to stand on top of the castle and claim it. Viktor made a pouting expression, pointing out that he should be on top of the castle since he was the oldest after all.

“Yuu….I will be four soon too!” Yuuri bursted out in excitement at Viktor’s statement. “There will be a party, do you want to come?”

“Will there be cake?” Yurio asked, trying to sound indifferent while barely hiding a grin.

Yuuri nodded and jumped to his feet, forming a large circle with his hands. “Mama promised a BIG cake!”

Yurio made a satisfied grunt that sounded more like a purr, letting Yuuri know that if there is cake, he will be so nice to come by. Yuuri turned to Viktor, who shook with laughter at Yurio’s ‘reluctant’ approval.

“When is Viktor’s birthday?” Yuuri asked his older friend, wondering how much longer he would be the same age. Viktor would be five on his next birthday, again a year ahead and there was nothing Yuuri could do against it. He wanted to catch up so badly but it seemed like there was simply no way to do so.

“December 25th!” Viktor declared proudly and Yuuri could feel his heart sink. December was already next month! Their time at the same age was so short that Yuuri wanted to cry. Suddenly Yuuri looked up, eyes wide open as he remembered why the date had sounded so familiar to him.

“Viktor’s birthday is on Christmas!” he exclaimed, disappointment at the proximity of the day momentarily forgotten. Viktor looked at him and frowned, shaking his head in bewilderment.

“You don’t even know when Christmas is, you’re so stupid!” Yurio said while rolling his eyes at Yuuri. Yuuri blinked and looked from Yurio to Viktor and then back again. Christmas was on December 25th, wasn’t it? He distinctly remembered his family having a Christmas party on that day when they were still in Hasetsu.

“But….” he started hesitantly. “Yuuri….I…always get gifts in December”

Viktor frowned a little and shook his head. 

“Christmas is on January 7th.” the older boy declared, confusing Yuuri even further. He would have to ask his parents about this, he was sure they would know everything about it. For now, Yuuri pushed the subject aside, though.

“So for the party…” he said shyly, trying to change the subject, “we’ll have games and cake so Viktor will come too?”

Viktor’s frown turned into a huge smile and he nodded eagerly, taking Yuuri’s hands into his.

“Of course, Yuuri!” he chirped right before pulling Yuuri into a tight hug and twirling them around. Yurio rolled his eyes at the view and let out an annoyed huff.

**************************

The week went by slowly for Yuuri. It felt similar to the time he had waited for the weekend to go on his first ice skating adventure with Viktor. The closer the weekend came, the more his mother buzzed around the house, shooing him out of the kitchen whenever he tried to come in for anything but a meal.

Yuuri knew she was preparing for the party, preparing any food that could be done in advance. He wanted to help but when he tried his sister would smirk at him and tell him to go away.

“You only want to see what food we’re preparing.” she would say every time and Yuuri wanted to say it wasn’t true. But it was. The whole house was dipped in mouth-watering smells and Yuuri was so curious to know what was being cooked. However, he knew from the year before that there was no way they would let him see.

So Yuuri waited and by the time the weekend came around, he felt as if he was ready to burst with curiosity and excitement. 

Birthdays had always been treasured in the Katsuki household but due to the hot springs business, the celebration was usually small. However, when Yuuri entered the kitchen on his birthday, his whole family sat around the table and started singing while standing behind a beautiful birthday cake surrounded by presents.

Yuuri felt tears burn in his  eyes and rushed to his father, mother and his sister, hugging them tighter than ever before. Having breakfast with his whole family had always been his birthday wish. While they sat down to eat, Yuuri found himself thinking that going to Russia had probably been the best thing that ever happened to him.

*************

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YUURI!” Viktor squealed while literally jumping at the younger boy and pulling him into a tight hug. Yuuri tried to balance them but since Viktor was quite a bit taller, they eventually ended up on the floor with both of them laughing. Yurio, who had arrived together with Viktor, only rolled his eyes and grumbled a small ‘ _happy birthday,_ _where is the cake?’._

Compared to the week before, the actual celebration almost flew by for Yuuri. They enjoyed a variety of delicious foods, including cake, played in Yuuri’s room and unwrapped the presents he had received from his family, Viktor and Yurio.

“There is one present you haven’t received yet.” his mother said after all the wrapping paper had been cleaned away. She smiled at Yuuri with a glow in her eyes that Yuuri hadn’t seen before. It made him jump up and run to her, hugging her while looking up with big eyes.

“What is it? Yuu…..I got so much already!” Yuuri said, excitement clearly in his voice.

“Wait here and close your eyes.”

Yuuri did just that, bouncing back and forth on his heels. He heard a small gasp and a giggle from behind him and almost opened his eyes then and there. He felt his mother’s presence getting closer again and a moment later, he felt something soft and wet on his cheek. Unable to keep his eyes closed any longer, Yuuri peeked through his lashes and looked at the small brown poodle that had just licked his face.

Yuuri looked at his mother and then back at the poodle before rubbing his eyes.

“For me…?” he asked with a shaky voice, still not sure if he should believe his eyes. 

His mother nodded and smiled. 

“You and Mari will take care of him until you can do it on your own.”

Mari grins at him and leaned down to ruffle his hair.

“Happy birthday, squirt.”

Yuuri felt tears running down his cheeks and he sniffed before carefully taking the small poodle from his mother’s arm. He hugged him carefully, causing the pet to lick his cheek again. He turned around to his friends and let them pet the small dog. Viktor looked up and grinned.

“Now you have your own Makka! What’s his name?”

Yuuri thought for a moment and then blushed a little before answering the question.

“Vicchan...because Viktor gave Yuuri Makkachin before…..”

Viktor looked at him, face breaking out into an even wider smile before he looked at the poodle again.

“Nice to meet you, Vicchan. Let’s be friends!”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you had fun with Yuuri's little party! I promise there is a good reason why he got Vicchan despite being so small. I know small kids and pets is one of those things but he won't be responsible on his own.
> 
> I'd be happy to hear what you think in the comments!
> 
> You can also find me on [tumblr](chessala.tumblr.com)


	11. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the chapter count went up a little since I really wanted this chapter in before the end. It _might_ go to 13 but I'm not sure just yet.
> 
> Once again, sorry for taking so long! I had been working on some other projects that weren't quite as happy and I need a particular mood to write our tiny boys!
> 
>  
> 
> **Not beta-ed**
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!

Yuuri hadn’t thought that the weather in Russia could get any colder. In contrary to his home in Japan, there had already been snow on his birthday less than a month ago and the days had only gotten colder and colder after that. When Yuuri left for kindergarten in the mornings, he always felt like he was wearing more clothes than he had even known he owned.

But since he was now four, Yuuri had decided to not complain about his running noise, his freezing toes and the burning of his ears. He now had Vicchan to walk together with his sister so he couldn’t possibly complain. The small poodle had quickly taken to Yuuri and wouldn’t leave the house unless Yuuri was right there next to him. 

His bark sounded like one of the small toy honks that were being sold in stores and Yuuri loved it, loved hearing it when he woke up in the morning and when he went to bed in the evening. Vicchan was always with him and one of the things Yuuri loved most was going to bed, Vicchan cuddles into a small ball by his feet while he held on to Makkachin in his arms. 

Yuuri wasn’t sure how it had happened, but Vicchan had taken to the plush toy almost as much as to Yuuri himself and was constantly cuddling with it when Yuuri wasn’t in the house during kindergarten hours.

“Maybe it smells like you?” Mari suggested one day when they were out on a walk with Vicchan, who jumping around their feet excitedly.

“Smells like me? Do I smell strange?” Yuuri asked while lifting his arm and sniffing below it. The cold started tickling his nose and he sneezed without being any wiser about his smell. Mari chuckled and leaned down to clean his nose.

“It’s not that you smell bad, squirt, but dogs smell way more things than we do, they can recognize people by their smell alone.”

Yuuri’s eyes opened wide and he looked at the little poodle that was now leaning his front paws against Yuuri’s leg in a desperate attempt to get attention from him. Yuuri crouched down and was immediately assaulted by the poodle’s tongue against his cheek.

“So if I ever get lost again, does Nee-chan think that Vicchan will find me?” Yuuri asked curiously while rubbing the rapidly cooling dog spit of his cheek with the sleeve of his jacket.

“Sure he would, not that he would ever lose you to begin with. He even refuses to go for walks unless you are with him.” She said with a playful roll of her eyes and a smile on her face. It was hard to imagine these two ever separating and for Mari that made the bit of work she had helping Yuuri take care of the poodle more than worth it.

Yuuri beamed at her and then pulled Vicchan into a tight hug, nuzzling his nose into the soft fur.

“Thank you, Vicchan!” he said, gratitude for the dog’s love washing over Yuuri and making him feel warm despite the cold around them. After a few moments, Mari nudged Yuuri to get up so they could head back. When Yuuri looked up, he noticed that the previously blue sky had turned dark and the first snowflakes had already started to fall.

\-------------------------------

“What do I smell like?” Yuuri asked the next day in kindergarten, earning him a confused expression from Viktor and a snort from Yurio, who didn’t even deem it necessary to look up from his colouring book. Yuuri hurried to explain by telling them about the conversation with his sister the day before. “I know Nee-chan said that Vicchan can smell me but...how do I smell?” he wondered with a sigh.

Viktor put down his own crayon and looked thoughtful for a moment, index finger pressed against his lips as if telling people to remain quiet while he found a solution for Yuuri’s question. Viktor’s eyes wandered to the window for a second and when he turned back, his eyes were shining.

“I’ll find out, let me smell you!” he said while beaming. From the corner of his eyes, Yuuri could see Yurio’s head hit the table with small  _ ‘thump’ _ , followed by a groan. Viktor tilted his head a little but simply shrugged off Yurio’s reaction before looking at Yuuri again. “Ok?”

Yuuri nodded and slowly slid out of his chair. He hadn’t been able to smell anything when he had tried again in the bathtub but maybe you couldn’t smell yourself? Yuuri knew that his mother and sister smelled different but could they smell themselves? Maybe your own smell was something you couldn’t smell for yourself and you needed someone else to tell you. 

Viktor got off his chair as well and moved opposite Yuuri, who lifted his arms and looked at the older boy. Viktor frowned a little but then leaned close, pulling in the air near Yuuri with his nose. He tilted his head slightly and moved around Yuuri until he was behind his back. Again, Viktor moved his nose close, this time to Yuuri’s hair, and inhaled deeply. In the meantime, Yuuri could hear Yurio muttering something about Viktor being as stupid as a dog.

After sniffing Yuuri a few more times, Viktor returned to his seat and closed his eyes before speaking.

“You smell like the sea but also not like the sea. There is something else, it’s fresh and it felt really relaxing!” Viktor stated, opening his eyes to look at Yuuri again. “I like your smell.”

Yuuri felt his face get warm at the compliment, his cheeks gaining a light shade of pink as he smiled a little and mumbled a small  _ ‘thanks’ _ . It didn’t help as much in knowing exactly what he smelled like but at least he now knew that he wasn’t smelling bad.

“I think Katsudon smells like Katsudon and I don’t need to sniff him to know that. Maybe his dog just wants to take a good bite!” Yurio said, looking at them with a smirk, obviously satisfied with his comment.

“Don’t be mean, Yurio!” Viktor scolded. He turned to Yurio and frowned again. “Vicchan would never bite Yuuri, he is a good dog.”

“He is a dog.” Yurio replied, pulling a face. “Dogs are stupid. I want a cat and it will be much better than a stupid dog. I’ll call it Puma Tiger Scorpion - but you can say Potya if you are nice.” he continued proudly.

Yuuri wasn’t that fond of cats, he had been scratched several times by his neighbour’s cat in Japan but he didn’t hate them. He smiled a little at Yurio, getting comfortable on his chair again before talking.

“Maybe Vicchan and Potya can play together!” he said happily. Vicchan was a good dog, he would be nice to a cat too, Yuuri knew it.

“No way, Potya will beat up your stupid poodle any time!” Yuri said, looking at Yuuri as if his suggestion was simply incredulous. Yuuri pulled a face and sighed, biting his lower lip to keep himself from saying what was on his mind. He didn’t see a problem in Vicchan and Potya being friends but maybe Yurio was still too young to understand that. After all, he was only two - so much younger than him and Viktor were.

While they went back to filling in their colouring books, Yuuri suddenly remembered the conversation he had regarding Christmas before. He had almost forgotten about it as Vicchan took up almost all his free time but now that he remembered, it still confused him. He knew that it was already late December and in his house they already had decorations and a tree up. However, no one else seemed to be getting excited yet.

“Viktor’s birthday is on Christmas, right?” he asked tentatively, unsure how to bring up the topic. His friends looked up and, as expected, Yurio rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Christmas is in January, we told you before.” Yurio said, voice impatient. Yuuri sighed a little and looked first at Yurio and then at Viktor.

“In Japan, we celebrate Christmas on December 25th. We have a big Christmas tree at home and when I get up in the morning, there are gifts under the tree that Santa Claus brought if I have been a good boy. You don’t have a Santa Claus that brings you gifts?”

Viktor pushed his colouring book aside and was quiet for a moment before looking at Yuuri.

“We get gifts on New Year’s Eve when Grandfather Frost comes with his granddaughter but not on my birthday.” Viktor explained, a small smile on his face. “Of course I always get presents since it’s my birthday, though!”

Yurio rolled his eyes and aimed to hit Viktor with his elbow, just to miss his goal and ungracefully slide on the table, grumbling to himself. After sitting up straight again, he glared at Yuuri before talking.

“And Christmas is on January 7th. We eat lots of tasty things like Pelmeni, Borscht and Soljanka and we go to church.” Yurio said, voice slightly calmer than before. “Why would we have Christmas on stupid Viktor’s birthday….”

Yuuri looked and and forth between them again, still not sure why things were so different here in Russia. He had always thought that Christmas was the same everywhere. He knew that his sister had told him that in places like America and in Europe, they celebrated Christmas on the same days and in some places, good children even got their presents already on the 24th! But he had never heard of it being in January, it just seemed too strange to be true.

“Will Viktor have a birthday party, then?” Yuuri asked, not wanting to push the topic much further. Viktor’s smile faltered a little and he looked down to his colouring book, drawing a few absentminded circles on it.

“My parents aren’t home. They usually just leave me gifts and the housekeepers never want a party, too much trouble.” he said with a quiet voice, eye cast down. Yuuri wanted to hug him. No matter how busy his parents were, they always made sure that Yuuri could enjoy his birthday, making sure he never felt alone. He thought of the big house with the beautiful garden and Viktor sitting alone in his room without anyone to spent time with. Yuuri silently took a few steps after getting off his chair again and hugged Viktor, holding on him for dear life.

When he looked up, Viktor’s eyes met his in confusion. Yuuri didn’t know how he could explain the small but persistent pain he felt at the thought of Viktor spending his birthday alone so all he could do was hug him even tighter.

\-------------------------------

“Can Viktor spent Christmas with us?” Yuuri asked during dinner, not looking up from his bowl full of steaming rice. Next to him, Vicchan perked up when he heard Viktor’s name and let out a short and excited bark that made Yuuri look at him and smile. From his side, he heard his mother place her chopsticks on the her chopstick rests before starting to talk.

“But wouldn’t Viktor rather spend Christmas with his family?” she asked calmly, looking at her son with a small smile.

“It’s his birthday too and he said he would be alone.” Yuuri answered, still keeping his eyes cast down while the small pain in his chest came back. “And Viktor and Yurio said they don’t celebrate Christmas on the same day. But Viktor’s parents are busy and he will be all alone and he can’t have a party.” he continued, feeling the sting of hot tears in his eyes.

When there is no immediate answer, Yuuri slowly lifts his head, looking at the smiling faces of his mother and father while nodding.

“You can invite Yurio too, we can make a small party like we did for your birthday but don’t tell Viktor just yet, it will be a surprise, ok?”

Yuuri nodded eagerly, unable to hold the tears back any longer. He felt a weight drop off his shoulders knowing that at least this year, Viktor wouldn’t have to be alone without anyone celebrating.

“Thank you!” Yuuri pressed out before jumping up and hugging his parents tightly.

\-------------------------------

The next day, Yuuri made sure to let Yurio know about their party plans the moment they were alone. The younger boy looked at him for a moment and then nodded, surprising Yuuri with the lack of a snarky answer. 

“Yuuri, you’re grinning!” Viktor said when he came back from the bathroom. Yuuri turned to him and nodded, taking both of Viktor’s hands in his.

“Do you want to visit our house on Christmas? It’ll be fun!” Yuuri asked while looking at Viktor excitedly, hands a little clammy. Viktor’s mouth shaped into a perfect  _ ‘O’  _  for a moment and then the older boy smiled at Yuuri with the most beautiful heart-shaped smile he had ever seen. Yuuri felt a tugging on his hands and a moment later found himself being hugged as tightly as he had hugged Viktor just the day before. Viktor nuzzled his face into the crook of Yuuri’s neck, whispering a low  _ ‘thank you’  _ so only Yuuri could hear it while wet tears dropped Yuuri’s shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! I'd appreciate getting your opinion in the comments!
> 
> You can also find me on [tumblr](http://chessala.tumblr.com)


	12. Until we meet again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! It's done, this is the last chapter. I'm sorry it took so long but I hope the chapter length makes up for it a little.
> 
> I want to take the time to thank everyone that has been reading this fic! It was my very first longer project and while I would do a lot of things different now if I were to start again, I'm still happy I could finish it!
> 
> Now, without many more words, have fun!
> 
> **Not beta-ed**

“What do you do in school that is different from kindergarten?” Yuuri asked while frowning. He knew his sister was already in school and from what she said, it didn’t sound like a lot of fun. Everyone had to sit at their tables all the time and listen to a teacher telling them a lot of things. And there were also test where they made sure that you really listened. The whole concept seemed rather strange to Yuuri.

Of course he knew that he would start school after his sixth birthday as well. But despite the fact that another whole year had passed and he was now five, it still seemed so far away. The year had passed without Yuuri noticing the seasons going by. Russia always seemed rather cold to him, no matter if Viktor and Yurio complained that it was so hot. 

But it wasn’t only the lack of seasons, Yuuri found that he actually enjoyed himself. When he had turned five, his parents had finally agreed to let Yuuri join a skating class especially for children, the same Viktor was attending as well. So not only did he see his best friend during kindergarten, he also saw him three times a week during their skating class. And if Yuuri was really lucky, Viktor and Yurio could sleep over on the weekend. An offer that especially Viktor took him up on as often as possible.

Knowing that they could see each other outside of kindergarten helped Yuuri not to panic when he was reminded that Viktor would have to start school the coming year. It had been a shock. In Yuuri’s mind, the three of them would all stay together through kindergarten and then start school together. Of course he knew that Viktor was older and Yurio was younger, but the thought that they wouldn’t be together was difficult for him.

“They teach you a lot of things like reading books without pictures.” Viktor suggested, startling Yuuri out of his thoughts. “My papa said being good in school is important if you want to be successful.”

Yuuri sighed and sat down on the bench next to Viktor, pulling off his skates and rubbing his feet. They were staying much longer than they should, but somehow time always flew when they were together.

“I can read books without pictures and I don’t need to go to any stupid school for it.” Yuuri mumbled. Viktor looked at him and took his hand, squeezing it tightly.

“It’s only for a year and you can come too.” Viktor said softly. Yuuri looked at his friend, managing a smile. A year had just passed so fast, how bad could it possibly be? He still had Yurio and….

“You’ll be all alone!” Yuuri blurted out. Viktor hated being alone and despite his cheerful character, it was hard for him to make friends sometimes. Viktor had told him before that Yurio was the only person that stuck around him before Yuuri had arrived.

“I’ll be ok, we can meet here or on the weekend.” Viktor said reassuringly but Yuuri could feel the small tremble in his hand.

“You won’t want to play with a baby like me when-”Yuuri started just to have a hand land square on his mouth.

“Never! I’ll always want to be with you.” Viktor said, hand completely steady this time. “We’ll always be together, remember?”

Yuuri nodded and Viktor removed his hand after a moment. They finish changing from skates back to their normal shoes before taking each other’s hand again and going to the entrance where Yuuri’s mother had been waiting patiently. She greeted them with a smile and a peck on the cheek before going to the car to go home.

Always, as Yuuri found out only a few days later, didn’t actually always mean forever.

\------------

“Do you think they will be happy?” Hiroko asked her husband while looking at her son all curled up and fast asleep in his bed. “They have friends here now.”

Toshiya pulled her into a hug, surrounding her with his steady warmth she fell in love with so many years ago. He looks at his wife and smiles.

“It will be hard for them, but they are strong so I’m sure they will be fine.”

Hiroko nodded hesitantly, a smile played around her lips when she looked back at Yuuri, Vicchan snuggled against his chest. She thought about the time when they had arrived here and how fast withdrawn little Yuuri had made friends. She had never seen him smile so much before and despite her husband’s assurance, she wondered if she would ever see him smile that easily again after they left.

Yuuri would start school in less than a year’s time and she hoped that it would help him settle in. Maybe they could even have him join his old kindergarten before then. She didn’t worry much about Mari, she had always been an open child and easy to connect to people. She would transfer back into her old elementary school and finish the year there before starting middle school. No, she didn’t have to worry about Mari, Hiroko thought with another smile.

“We’ll tell them in the morning.” Toshiya said while squeezing Hiroko’s shoulder and it was then when she noticed the slightest of shakes coming from his hand. It was calming to know that you don’t worry on your own. They had pulled their children to a different country once and in a meager 3 months, they would pull them back to Japan to reopen the hot springs. It’s what they had always planned to do but she hadn’t anticipated how difficult it would be to leave again.

\---------------

Yuuri listened quietly to his parents tell him and Mari that they would be moving back to Hasetsu in three months. He didn’t scream, he didn’t protest like he did before their move and before he understood how hard this decision was for his parents. Three months would go by too fast, he wouldn’t even have time to see Viktor start school. 

That was when his eyes started to burn with a familiar heat. He didn’t want to cry but the tears were running down his cheeks before he could stop them. He had always known that this would happen eventually, but as time passed, a small part of Yuuri had hoped that things would turn out differently. He felt guilty for it sometimes. He knew how much his parents loved the hot springs they had run in Japan and yet here Yuuri was, hoping to stay in Russia, a country he had never imagined he would call home.

“Can Vicchan come with us?” Yuuri asked, proud that his voice was only shaking a little. He ran a hand over his eyes brushing the tears away before new ones took their place. Under the table, Mari was squeezing his hand tightly, grounding him.

“Of course, we can’t leave him alone here now, can we?” his mother said with a small, sad smile and for the first time since they had entered the kitchen, Yuuri felt something like relief.

“And Viktor? Can we take Viktor too?” he blurted out before he could stop himself. It was a stupid question and he knew it. There was no way Viktor could come with them to Japan, even if he was always alone in the big house. The thought made Yuuri’s chest feel heavy. He knew it wasn’t possible and yet a very small part of him couldn’t help hoping.

“Yuu-chan...” his mother started and Yuuri could hear her voice shaking.

“I know, I know he can’t.” Yuuri said hastily, not wanting to make it any harder on her than it already was. It wasn’t fair, really. He didn’t want to go back to Hasetsu, even though that’s what he wanted most when they had first arrived. So many things had changed in the last two years. A few days ago his biggest worry had been that Viktor would go to school a year before him and now he didn’t even know if he would ever see him again.

He would miss Yurio too. Despite his temper, Yuuri was quite fond of the younger boy as well. He knew that Yurio didn’t always show it but he was pretty sure that he at least didn’t hate Yuuri either. They had spent so much time together that it was hard for Yuuri to imagine that they would be hours apart soon.

A small shake from Mari pulled Yuuri from his thoughts and he looked up into the worried faces of his parents, managing a small smile.

“I’m ok! I’m glad I can see Yuu-chan and Nishigori again. It will be great!” he said way more cheerful than he felt. He saw his parents’ bodies relaxing a bit and made sure to keep smiling and nodding as they told them that they would be able to join their old school and kindergarten again. Yuuri only half listened, feeling something heavy in his chest that he hadn’t felt even when they had moved first.

\----------------

The next day, Yuuri refused to go to kindergarten for the first time since his first day. He curled up in his bed, complaining about a stomach ache he didn’t feel and was glad when his mother didn’t push further and only told him to stay in bed. He wanted to go but the thought of seeing his friends right now hurt. He didn’t know how to tell them, knew exactly how they would look at him. He had spoken to Viktor about it before but he had been so cheerful and confident that they wouldn’t be separated. Would he still say the same things? Would he still promise Yuuri he would fly over to visit every day?

It was a scary thought. While he had left friends behind before, it felt way worse this time. Was it because he was older now? He had heard Mari say that you don’t remember a lot of when you were small later on but Yuuri still remembered the move clearly. Still remembered Yuu-chan crying and making him promise that he would come back.

Yuuri heard the door to his room open and didn’t even need to pull away his blanket to know who it was. He heard his sister moving quietly through the room and felt her sit on the side of his bed.

“Staying home won’t make it any easier.” she said quietly while pulling away the blanket and looking at him. “The longer you wait, the harder it will get.”

“What if I never see them again?” Yuuri asked hesitantly, putting his fear into words for the first time. He knew it was hard to say goodbye and he just couldn’t stand the thought that it might be the last memory they share.

“That’s up to you and your friends, isn’t it?” Mari answered in the same voice as before while gently running her fingers through her brother’s hair in a soothing gesture. “While we were here, I sometimes called Hitomi and Nana, even though they are back home. And if we had gone to Hasetsu for a visit, I would have seen them again.” Mari smiled a little and sighed softly.

“It’s never easy to say goodbye, Yuuri. You, Viktor and Yurio will be sad but if all of you want to, you will meet again. You can email each other too, you learned how to write a bit in Russian, didn’t you?”

Yuuri nodded and sat up, crawling out of the bed. Grabbing his workbook from the table, Yuuri opened the last pages and showed them to Mari, who nodded at him with a smile.

“When you are far apart, you can send emails and letters to your friends. It’s not the same as seeing them every day, but it helps and you can still talk about everything that is happening. It will be really exciting to share what is happening in Japan with the.”

Yuuri thought about this for a moment and nodded. He hadn’t thought about that before, had only focused on the fact that they wouldn’t be together anymore. But Viktor and Yurio didn’t know Hasetsu or the kindergarten there. Yuuri would have so much to tell them every day and he while he wouldn’t be able to skate with Viktor anymore, he could talk to him about it and they could share all the new things they had learned. 

While Yuuri was still sad, he also liked the idea of sharing things with his friends that they didn’t know about. And maybe, just maybe, they could visit each other as well? It’s what he was hoping and what he was holding on to when he told his sister that he would be going to kindergarten after all.

\-------------------

He held on to his mother tighter than usual while they approach the familiar building. He could already see Viktor by the window, saw his face lighting up when he spotted Yuuri. He waved excitedly and Yuuri wanted nothing more than to hide behind his mother. But he already made up his mind to tell his friends that the would be leaving for Japan in summer. That didn’t make him feel any happier about it though.

But he didn’t want to spend the last months in Russia worrying about telling his friends that he would be leaving while the time came closer and close. It would get harder the longer he waited his sister had said and if she said it, it had to be true.

“Yuuri!” Viktor’s voice echoed through the hallway when Yuuri and his mother came through the door. She crouched down in front of Yuuri and ran her hand through his hair before kissing his forehead.

“You’re a big boy by now, you’ll be fine.” she said with a smile and got up, ruffling his hair one more time before leaving. Yuuri turned around and waved to Viktor and a grumpy looking Yurio right behind him. He couldn’t help smiling at the image he saw every morning, as if Viktor had decided to be double as cheerful since Yurio was always grumpy.

“You’re late.” Viktor pouted while giving Yuuri a quick hug. Yuuri nodded, answering the hug before pulling away and looking at the tip of his shoes.

“I almost didn’t come.” he said quietly, eyes still fixed to his own feet as he stepped past his friends and into their group’s room. It felt a bit like the first time he entered it, everything seemed to look just a little bit different now that he knew he wouldn’t be here much longer. He pulled out one of the chairs but only stared at it, his eyes stinging already.

“Yuuri, are you sad?” Viktor’s voice was followed by a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder, making him pull into himself just a little. Viktor’s hand remained where it was, unafraid of Yuuri pulling away. It made Yuuri remember the day when he had arrived in kindergarten for the first time and how he had insisted to share a bed during their nap.

“Maybe he didn’t get katsudon for breakfast?” Yurio suggested and Yuuri couldn’t help a small smile appearing on his face. Yurio hadn’t changed at all in the last years, whenever Yuuri felt bad, he made a poor joke that managed to get Yuuri’s mind off whatever was bothering him. It didn’t work today but it still made Yuuri feel better. He took a deep breath and climbed on his chair, waiting for his friends to do the same before he looked at them.

“Mama and Papa said…..we’ll go back to Hasetsu in summer…” he said in a low voice, not daring to look up. His heart was pounding and he wasn’t sure if what he heard was just the rush of his own blood or had to do with Viktor and Yurio. He could feel the tears running down his cheeks but he didn’t bother to brush them away. He wouldn’t be able to stop crying anyway.

“You’re leaving?” It was Yurio who spoke first, voice shaking just enough so he couldn’t hide it anymore. “Why? Are you running away from me?”

Yuuri looked up and shook his head, reaching over to grab Yurio’s hands that were on the table. He didn’t pull away.

“No! Mama and Papa…they want to open the hot springs again, they always wanted that.” Yuuri spoke while holding on tightly to Yurio’s hands, wondering if there was anything he could do for him.

“Then they go and you stay, Viktor has two bedrooms!” Yurio said stubbornly while looking at the still-silent Viktor. Yuuri hadn’t dared to look at Viktor yet, didn’t know what he would see. But he wanted to know. Maybe he was wrong and Viktor wouldn’t be sad at all, maybe he would be happy to not have to bother with him anymore. He was about to turn his head just the little bit he missed to see the older boy when he heard him talk.

“Yuuri can’t stay away from his parents, you know that. Wouldn’t your papa be sad if you were gone?” Viktor’s voice was hardly audible, more a whisper against a storm than words at all. He had spoken to Viktor about leaving before but he had never sounded this utterly devastated before.

“I don’t want to go….” Yuuri spoke before he even noticed the words mixing with his tears. “I want to stay here and see Viktor and Yurio every day and go skating….” He placed his arms on the table and hid his face behind them, hoping that when he lifted his head, he wouldn’t be having this conversation anymore. 

He heard a chair moving and footsteps getting closer. A few moments later, Yuuri felt himself being pulled away from the table and against Viktor’s chest. He clenched his hands into Viktor’s t-shirt and didn’t bother hiding the sobs. He didn’t want to go and everything his sister had told him not long ago seemed like nothing but an illusion. How could he possibly be fine with not being here?

“I can’t visit you every day…” Viktor said soothingly while holding Yuuri tightly against his chest. “But my papa and mama call me all the time and that’s good too. We can talk a lot….”

Yuuri knew Viktor was lying. He told Yuuri before how talking to his parents wasn’t the same as seeing them. But Yuuri nodded anyway and held on just a bit tighter.

“If you can’t visit every day, I do!” Yurio said, making Viktor and Yuuri grin at his words. Once again, the blond boy had managed to distract Yuuri from the thoughts that had been trying to choke him. He would miss him a lot but at least they will have each other. Yuuri smiled a little to himself and hugged Viktor a little tighter for a  moment before letting go.

“I’ll come back here.” Yuuri said, surprising himself. It was just a feeling he was getting suddenly. Like he hadn’t finished whatever it was that had started when he moved here two years ago. He could feel it under his skin, knew that something was still waiting to be discovered by him.

“I’ll come back for sure.” he said again, voice steady while he looked back and forth between Viktor and Yurio. After a moment, Viktor held out his hand, pinky sticking out.

“Promise?”

Yuuri looked at his hand for a moment before reaching out with his own and, linking their pinkies together.

“Promise. Will you wait for me?” Yuuri’s voice was shaking a bit again, the words bringing back the familiar lump in his throat. Viktor tightened his finger around Yuuri’s just a little more and nodded, the familiar smile returning to his face.

“We both will, right?” Viktor turned to Yurio. The younger boy frowned but nodded as well.

“Hurry up!” Yurio grumbled, trying his best to make it sound like a challenge.

Yuuri closed his eyes for a moment to let the words sink in. He didn’t know how long it would take but knowing that he won’t be alone, no matter when he would come back, was oddly comforting.

\-------

“I want to stay up longer!” Yuuri pouted, looking at his sister defiantly as she was tugging him in with a sigh. Mari shook her head and ruffled Yuuri’s already messy hair.

“You do know days are not actually longer just because you stay up, right?” She said, barely managing to contain a laugh at her brother’s face.

“They don’t?” Yuuri asked, lower lip shaking just a little.

“No. It might feel like it, but a day always has 24 hours.” She smiled a little, voice getting softer. “I know you don’t want tomorrow to come. I don’t either but staying awake won’t change that.”

Yuuri had been getting more and more quiet over the last weeks, always disappearing into his room as soon as he came home. It was even worse on ice skating days. Mari had tagged along a few times but as soon as Yuuri stepped over the threshold of their home, it was as if the radiance he emitted around his friends just disappeared.

“I thought I was ok Mari-neechan….but I don’t want to leave….” Yuuri said from below the blanket, stifling a sob.

“I know, squirt.” She said, biting her own lower lip. Truth be told, she wanted to stay as well but it wouldn’t help to tell this to her brother now. She hadn’t expected to get used to a foreign country the way she did when they moved to Russia. She had always missed Hasetsu but now, only hours before they were leaving, Mari realizes she would miss Russia as well.

She still remembered a 3 years old Yuuri whining that he didn’t want to go to kindergarten in a strange new country. Now, only two years later, that very same boy was crying into his blanket because he didn’t want to leave.

“It will be alright.” she said with a confidence she didn’t quite feel. “You’ve made plans to talk with your friends, haven’t you?”

The answer she got was another muffled sob and a barely visible nod.

“And haven’t you decided to come back when you are older?”

Another nod, this time followed by a small ‘ _ yes’ _ .

“Do you want to know a secret how you might see them even sooner?” 

This time, the blanket was tossed aside carelessly and a very eager Yuuri was half sitting in her lap, looking at her with pleading eyes.

“How? Tell me, please, please,  _ please.” _

Mari smiled and helped her brother get more comfortable. She didn’t know if her idea would work, but knowing her brother, it would give him something to focus on. And Yuuri was nothing if not determined when he made up his mind about something.

“Ice skating. If you get good enough, you can go to competitions in other countries. A lot of children and grown ups from all-over the world can meet that way.”

Yuuri looked at his sister with shining eyes before rubbing the last remaining tears from them.

“Do you think I can be good enough?” he asked, doubt obvious in his voice.

“Why don’t you find out? You love skating, right?” Mari asked with a smile. Yuuri nodded eagerly, face lighting up.

“I do! It’s so much fun”

“Then give it a try. If you can’t go to competitions, you have done all you could and won’t regret that you didn’t give it a try. Deal?”

Yuuri thought about this for a moment and then nodded, a smile lighting up his face. She kept Yuuri on her lap a bit longer until his eyes started getting heavy. Gently, Mari tugged him into bed, pulling the blanket up while watching her brother curl up more relaxed than he had been for days.

\--------------------------

Yuuri took a few steps through the house, looking at his now-empty room. He could hear his parents talk to someone in the hallway, their voices echoing through the house as if they were trying to say a final goodbye to every room. It sounded similar to the day when they had arrived and yet completely different at the same time.

“Yuu-chan, did you make sure you didn’t forget anything?” His mother’s voice sounded closer now and Yuuri couldn’t stop a small sigh from escaping him. He turned around, turning his back to the the memories he had made in this room the last two years, holding onto them tightly in his mind while walking out of the room. From the street, Yuuri could hear the bustling of the last items being packed in the moving truck, the same way they had been packed in Hasetsu before. Some items had been thrown away and new ones had taken their place.

When Yuuri stepped into the hallway, his mother was smiling at him with a knowing look while she extended her hand to him. Yuuri slowly walked towards her and took it, trying his best to give her a smile. He had made up his mind already, no matter how much it was hurting. Together they went outside, closing the entrance door behind them one last time.

Outside, Yuuri looked around. Viktor and Yurio had promised to visit and say goodbye, but Yuuri couldn’t spot them anywhere just yet. He walked the few steps to his sister and pulled on the hem of her shirt.

“Do you think they will come, Mari-neechan?” he asked, voice shaking just a little. When he looked up, his sister was looking at him with a smile and pointed down the street. Yuuri turned around, a smile spreading on his face when he saw Viktor running towards him, dragging a rather sleepy Yurio behind him.

Viktor stops in front of Yuuri, hands clenched into small fists as he tries to catch his breath. Yurio seems to recover a bit faster and pulls on Yuuri’s arm only a few moments later.

“Do you really have to go?” Yurio presses out, eyes shining with unshed tears. Over the last weeks, the blond boy had made a point out of sayin how much he won’t miss having Yuuri around. It had hurt sometimes, had made Yuuri doubt that the Yurio really liked him. Maybe he had only imagined that they were friends after all? But hearing him ask now made the pain fall off like a scab from a wound that wasn’t really there anymore. Yurio held onto him a little stronger, voice quivering. “I’ll never steal your crayons again if you stay!”

Without thinking, Yuuri pulled Yurio into a tight hug, expecting a struggle and being surprised when none came. Instead, Yurio held onto him and buried his face against Yuuri’s chest while Yuuri looked Viktor with a sad smile.

Viktor stepped a little closer as well and wrapped his arms around both of them, staying perfectly silent. Yuuri leaned his head against Viktor’s shoulder, wrapping one arm around him while keeping the other around Yurio. He didn’t notice tears running down his cheeks at first, didn’t pay attention to them until a soft sob escaped him. At the sound, Viktor let go and looked at Yuuri, brushing his tears away.

“It’s ok, you’ll come back, right?” Viktor said, voice steady but sad. Yuuri nodded, hands clenching into fists in Yurio’s shirt.

“I will, I will for sure!” Yuuri managed to smile a little, determination burning in his chest. “But before that, I’ll do my best! I’ll skate and we meet on the ice!”

Viktor blinked for a moment before a wide grin appeared on his face when the meaning of Yuuri’s words dawned on him.

“I’ll wait for you.” Viktor said, voice stronger than before and laced with a slight challenge.

“I’ll be there too!” Yurio said, brushing his tears away while finally letting go of Yuuri. “You won’t leave me behind!”

Yuuri looked first at Yurio and then at Viktor, his chest warm with the memories he had made and the promise ahead.

“Yuu-chan, we have to go!” His mother’s voice made Yuuri turn around and he nodded at her before turning back once again. This was it, this was goodbye. Yuuri shook his head, frowning at his own thoughts.

“It’s not goodbye!” He said more to himself than the two boys in front of him. “It’s not! It’s just a see you later, right? Right?”

He really wanted it to sound strong but even to himself, his words sounded more like a plea. But despite that, Viktor nodded and hugged Yuuri once more, speaking close to his ear.

“I’ll wait. And if you don’t come back, I’ll come and get you!”

When Viktor let go, he smiled at Yuuri again,tightly holding Yurio’s hand. Yuuri took a step back, then another and then turned around and started running. Running away from the place that had felt more like a home than any place he had ever known. He closed his eyes and desperately clung to the promise he had made to his friends and to himself. The promise that this wouldn’t be forever.

Some might call their meeting fate, some might even call it destiny.

 

<b>THE END>/b>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for reading, for commenting and for leaving Kudos! 
> 
> I haven't started the second part of the series yet, but it will be called **Some might call it destiny** and feature our boys in their teens! Curious? You can check me out on [tumblr](http://chessala.tumblr.com) where I'll hopefully finally get into some world building for this series. I'm not yet sure when the new fic will be up, as I have a few more projects I'm working on and some that I want to start. I am also a notoriously bad planner, which has led me to getting stuck a bit occasionally. I'll try and change that for the new fic.
> 
> If you want to read more from me, check out my profile or my [writing tag on tumblr!](https://chessala.tumblr.com/search/writing)
> 
> Thank you again and SEE YOU NEXT LEVEL!


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